System Hardening CT-SEC Practice Questions (Page 5)

Questions 21–24

1. 21application · medium

   A security tester is verifying that a Linux server has been hardened by disabling unnecessary services. The tester wants to confirm that the 'telnet' service is not running. Which command or method would provide the MOST direct evidence that telnet is disabled?

   • AVerify that the telnet service is not set to start at boot by checking the system's runlevel configuration
   • BCheck the listening ports with 'ss -tlnp' and verify that port 23 is not listed
   • CReview the system's hardening documentation to confirm telnet was disabled
   • DCheck if the telnet client package is installed on the system
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 22foundation · easy

   What is the purpose of comparing a system's current configuration against a hardened baseline?

   • ATo measure the system's performance against industry standards
   • BTo identify deviations that may indicate missing or ineffective hardening controls
   • CTo determine the number of users currently logged in
   • DTo verify that all software licenses are up to date
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 23application · medium

   A security tester is verifying that a Windows server has been correctly hardened according to a published CIS benchmark. The tester needs to confirm that the hardening configuration is actually enforced and not just documented. Which approach provides the MOST reliable evidence that the hardening measures are effective?

   • ARun a configuration compliance scanner that compares the live system settings against the benchmark values
   • BInterview the system administrator about which hardening steps were performed
   • CCheck the server's uptime and recent reboot history to infer that hardening was applied
   • DReview the organization's written hardening policy and the administrator's sign-off form
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 24application · medium

   A security tester is assessing a server that was recently hardened. The tester discovers that the server still has a default SNMP community string set to 'public'. The organization's hardening baseline requires that SNMP be disabled or configured with strong community strings. What should the tester do?

   • AReport the default SNMP community string as a hardening gap and recommend disabling SNMP or changing the community string
   • BDisable SNMP only if the server is not actively using it, otherwise leave it as-is
   • CChange the community string to 'private' and consider the issue resolved
   • DAccept the default community string because SNMP is a standard protocol and is commonly used
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first