GPEN Network Exploitation Techniques Quiz

1. Which attack exploits improper input validation in web applications?

SQL Injection

Man-in-the-Middle

Brute Force

Denial of Service

2. Data exfiltration in post-exploitation refers to ____.

Stealing sensitive data from the compromised system

Removing malware

Restoring system backups

Patching vulnerabilities

3. Which of the following is a common lateral movement technique after initial exploitation?

Pivoting to other systems on the network

Updating patches

Disabling firewalls

Changing DNS settings

4. What does a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack allow an attacker to do?

Intercept and modify communications between two parties

Delete files remotely

Bypass antivirus software

Increase system performance

5. Social engineering is most effective when targeting ____.

Human psychology and trust

Firewalls

Encryption protocols

Network switches

6. Which tool is used for capturing and analyzing network packets?

Wireshark

Hashcat

John the Ripper

Aircrack-ng

7. What is the goal of a brute-force attack on authentication systems?

Guessing valid credentials through repeated attempts

Exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities

Installing malware

Monitoring network traffic

8. Which technique involves capturing network traffic to analyze data packets?

Packet sniffing

Privilege escalation

Social engineering

Keylogging

9. A vulnerability with no known patch or public exploit is called a ____.

Zero-day

Backdoor

Trojan

Rootkit

10. What does enumeration reveal about a target network?

Specific services, usernames, and shared resources

Only the number of devices

Encryption algorithms used

Physical location of servers

11. Which reconnaissance phase focuses on gathering information without directly contacting the target?

Active reconnaissance

Passive reconnaissance

Direct enumeration

Network scanning

12. What is the purpose of creating a reverse shell?

To establish command-line access from a remote attacker to a compromised host

To encrypt network communications

To monitor firewall logs

To update system patches

13. Which post-exploitation activity involves maintaining access to a compromised system?

Installing backdoors

Network scanning

Vulnerability assessment

Passive reconnaissance

14. What is privilege escalation?

Gaining higher-level permissions on a compromised system

Upgrading software versions

Increasing network bandwidth

Changing user passwords

15. Which vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a target system?

Remote Code Execution (RCE)

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

SQL Injection

Directory Traversal

16. What is a payload in the context of exploitation?

The malicious code executed after successful exploitation

The initial network packet sent

A firewall rule

An encryption key

17. Which framework is widely used for developing and executing exploits?

Metasploit Framework

Apache Web Server

DNS Protocol

SSL Certificate

18. What does vulnerability assessment involve?

Identifying and documenting security weaknesses

Fixing all network issues

Installing antivirus software

Monitoring user behavior

19. Which tool is commonly used for network reconnaissance and port scanning?

Nmap

Metasploit

Burp Suite