PenTest+ Practice Test 2026: Can You Pass PT0-003?

1. What is the primary goal of privilege escalation in penetration testing?

Gain higher-level access to sensitive resources

Encrypt all system files

Disable antivirus software

Create backup user accounts

2. Which vulnerability type allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a web server?

Remote Code Execution (RCE)

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

Broken authentication

Sensitive data exposure

3. In the context of PT0-003, which of these is a key requirement for ethical penetration testing?

Written authorization from the target organization

Approval from the attacker's employer

Disclosure to the public beforehand

Use of only open-source tools

4. What does a reverse shell provide to an attacker?

Remote command execution on the target system

Encrypted communication channel

Firewall rule visibility

User password hashes

5. Which of the following is a passive reconnaissance tool?

WHOIS lookup

Nmap port scanner

Metasploit framework

Burp Suite active scanner

6. What is the primary objective of a penetration test's post-engagement phase?

Deliver findings and recommendations to the client

Continue exploiting vulnerabilities

Perform final vulnerability scans

Destroy all test evidence

7. Which wireless security standard is considered obsolete and highly vulnerable?

WEP

WPA2

WPA3

802.1X

8. In vulnerability management, what is the primary purpose of remediation?

Fix or mitigate identified security flaws

Document all discovered vulnerabilities

Assign severity scores to risks

Generate compliance audit reports

9. What does a WAF (Web Application Firewall) primarily protect against?

Application-layer attacks like XSS and SQL injection

DDoS attacks at the network layer

Physical unauthorized access

Malware in email attachments

10. Which protocol is vulnerable to MITM (Man-in-the-Middle) attacks due to lack of encryption?

HTTP

HTTPS

SSH

TLS

11. Which phase of the NIST cybersecurity framework focuses on identifying and analyzing security vulnerabilities?

Identify

Protect

Detect

Recover

12. Which authentication bypass technique exploits weak session management?

Session fixation

Brute force password attacks

Certificate pinning

Multi-factor authentication

13. In a social engineering attack, which technique involves impersonating a trusted entity to extract information?

Phishing

Pretexting

Dumpster diving

Shoulder surfing

14. What does CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) primarily provide?

A standardized severity rating for vulnerabilities

Automated vulnerability remediation steps

Real-time threat intelligence feeds

Network bandwidth allocation metrics

15. Which tool is commonly used for network packet capture and analysis?

Wireshark

Shodan

Burp Suite

Maltego

16. What is SQL injection primarily used to exploit?

Database input validation flaws

Firewall rule misconfigurations

Weak encryption algorithms

Physical security gaps

17. Which reconnaissance technique passively gathers information without directly interacting with the target?

Port scanning

OSINT (Open Source Intelligence)

Vulnerability scanning

Footprinting via nmap

18. In the context of penetration testing, what does the scope document define?

Systems, networks, and applications authorized for testing

The tester's personal equipment and tools

Post-engagement reporting requirements only

The client's disaster recovery plan

19. Which of the following best describes a zero-day vulnerability?

A flaw unknown to the vendor with no available patch

A vulnerability patched within 24 hours

A security issue affecting zero users

A deprecated software component

20. What is the primary purpose of a rules-based intrusion detection system (IDS)?

Monitor network traffic against predefined signatures

Encrypt sensitive data in transit

Perform password cracking attacks

Generate security audit logs