Advanced Password Attacks GPEN Practice Questions (Page 9)

Questions 41–45

1. 41application · medium

   You are testing a web application that locks accounts after 5 failed attempts within 15 minutes. You have a list of 1,000 usernames and a small list of common passwords. What is the best approach to avoid triggering lockouts while still testing many accounts?

   • ATry all passwords against one username before moving to the next
   • BUse a dictionary attack with a large wordlist against each account
   • CTry all 1,000 usernames with one password, then move to the next password
   • DUse a brute-force attack with a small character set
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 42expert · hard

   You are testing a system that stores SHA-256 hashes without salt. The password policy requires exactly 8 characters, with at least one uppercase, one lowercase, and one digit. You have a GPU that can test 10 billion hashes per second. You need to crack as many hashes as possible within 24 hours. Which attack strategy is most efficient?

   • AUse a hybrid attack with a wordlist and digits
   • BRun a mask attack with a custom charset that enforces the policy
   • CRun a pure brute-force attack over all 95 printable characters
   • DUse a dictionary attack with a large wordlist and rules
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 43expert · hard

   You are cracking NTLM hashes from a domain where the password policy requires at least 8 characters and complexity. Your wordlist contains common words, but you need to generate variations that include common substitutions (e.g., 'a' -> '@', 'e' -> '3') and append a digit. Which rule set would be most efficient?

   • ACreate a custom rule that only capitalizes the first letter and appends a digit
   • BUse the built-in 'best64' rule set
   • CUse a mask attack with ?l?l?l?l?l?l?d
   • DUse a hybrid attack with the wordlist and append a digit
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 44foundation · easy

   What is the primary benefit of using GPU acceleration in password cracking?

   • AIt reduces the keyspace needed for the attack
   • BIt allows cracking without a wordlist
   • CIt significantly increases the number of hash calculations per second
   • DIt automatically identifies the hash type
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 45foundation · easy

   Why is Kerberoasting considered an offline attack?

   • ABecause it uses precomputed rainbow tables
   • BBecause it does not require network access
   • CBecause the attacker cracks the service ticket offline after obtaining it
   • DBecause it does not require any credentials
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first