Pass the ECCouncil CEH v13 312-50v13 Questions and answers with ValidTests

A null user is a special connection made to a Windows system without providing a username or password. In older versions of Windows (NT, 2000, XP), null sessions could be used to anonymously connect to IPC$ share and enumerate:

Users

Groups

Shares

Policies

From CEH v13 Courseware:

Module 4: Enumeration → Null Sessions

CEH v13 Study Guide states:

“Null users are unauthenticated sessions used to access certain system resources without credentials. These are commonly used in enumeration attacks.”

Syslog messages are typically sent over UDP or TCP port 514 to the Syslog server. In this case, Snort (192.168.0.99) should send alerts to Kiwi Syslog (192.168.0.150) using TCP/UDP port 514.

The correct Wireshark filter to check if Snort is sending the messages to the Syslog server is:

tcp.dstport==514 && ip.dst==192.168.0.150

Reference – CEH v13 Official Study Guide:

Module 8: Sniffing

Topic: Packet Sniffing and Analysis

Quote:

“Wireshark filters like tcp.dstport and ip.dst can be used to verify outbound logs and traffic from intrusion detection systems.”

Incorrect Options:

A & B: Use incorrect IP addresses or direction

C: Uses incorrect destination IP (should be the Syslog server)

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SYN/FIN scanning using IP fragments is a process of scanning that was developed to avoid false positives generated by other scans because of a packet filtering device on the target system. The TCP header splits into several packets to evade the packet filter. For any transmission, every TCP header must have the source and destination port for the initial packet (8-octet, 64-bit). The initialized flags in the next packet allow the remote host to reassemble the packets upon receipt via an Internet protocol module that detects the fragmented data packets using field-equivalent values of the source, destination, protocol, and identification.

The security strategy that you would likely suggest is to adopt a Continual/Adaptive Security Strategy involving ongoing prediction, prevention, detection, and response actions to ensure comprehensive computer network defense. This strategy is based on the concept of continuous monitoring and improvement of the security posture of an organization, using a feedback loop that integrates various security activities and technologies. A Continual/Adaptive Security Strategy aims to proactively identify and mitigate emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and risks, as well as to respond effectively and efficiently to security incidents and breaches. A Continual/Adaptive Security Strategy can help enhance the organization’s security stance by providing the following benefits12:

It can reduce the attack surface and the exposure time of the organization’s network infrastructure, by applying timely patches, updates, and configurations, as well as by implementing security controls and policies.

It can increase the visibility and awareness of the organization’s network activity and behavior, by collecting, analyzing, and correlating data from various sources, such as logs, sensors, alerts, and reports.

It can improve the detection and prevention capabilities of the organization, by using advanced tools and techniques, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, threat intelligence, and behavioral analytics, to identify and block malicious or anomalous patterns and indicators.

It can enhance the response and recovery processes of the organization, by using automated and orchestrated actions, such as isolation, quarantine, remediation, and restoration, to contain and resolve security incidents and breaches, as well as by conducting lessons learned and root cause analysis to prevent recurrence.

The other options are not as appropriate as option C for the following reasons:

A. Develop an in-depth Risk Management process, involving identification, assessment, treatment, tracking, and review of risks to control the potential effects on the organization: This option is not sufficient because risk management is only one aspect of a comprehensive security strategy, and it does not address the dynamic and evolving nature of cyber threats and vulnerabilities. Risk management is a process of identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and treating the risks that may affect the organization’s objectives and operations, as well as monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the risk treatment measures3. Risk management can help the organization prioritize and allocate resources for security, but it cannot guarantee the prevention or detection of security incidents and breaches, nor the response and recovery from them.

B. Establish a Defense-in-Depth strategy, incorporating multiple layers of security measures to increase the complexity and decrease the likelihood of a successful attack: This option is not optimal because defense-in-depth is a traditional and static approach to security, and it may not be able to cope with the sophisticated and persistent attacks that exploit unknown or zero-day vulnerabilities. Defense-in-depth is a strategy of implementing multiple and diverse security controls and mechanisms at different layers of the organization’s network infrastructure, such as perimeter, network, endpoint, application, and data, to provide redundancy and resilience against attacks4. Defense-in-depth can help the organization protect its assets and systems from unauthorized access or damage, but it cannot ensure the timely detection and response to security incidents and breaches, nor the continuous improvement of the security posture.

D. Implement an Information Assurance (IA) policy focusing on ensuring the integrity, availability, confidentiality, and authenticity of information systems: This option is not comprehensive because information assurance is a subset of cybersecurity, and it does not cover all the aspects of a holistic security strategy. Information assurance is a discipline of managing the risks associated with the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information and data, and ensuring the protection of the information and data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction5. Information assurance can help the organization safeguard its information and data from compromise or loss, but it does not address the prevention, detection, and response to security incidents and breaches, nor the adaptation and innovation of the security technologies and processes.

A demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a buffer zone between a trusted internal network and an untrusted external network (usually the internet). Public-facing services like web servers, email servers, and DNS servers are typically placed in the DMZ. These nodes can be accessed from the internet, but the DMZ design ensures that unauthorized access to the internal network is blocked or highly restricted.

The purpose is to provide access to certain systems without exposing the internal network directly.

In CEH v13 Module 14: Cryptography, IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) is defined as a framework used to establish secure communication channels over IP networks, particularly in VPNs.

IPSec supports encryption, authentication, and integrity.

Operates in Tunnel Mode (VPNs) or Transport Mode (End-to-End).

Core protocols: AH (Authentication Header) and ESP (Encapsulating Security Payload).

Option Analysis:

A. PEM: Privacy Enhanced Mail (email encryption).

B. PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol (data link layer, not encryption).

C. IPSEC: VPN encryption protocol.

D. SET: Secure Electronic Transaction (used in payment systems, obsolete).

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Blind SQL injection is used when the application does not return errors or display query results. In such cases, attackers use inference methods such as:

Boolean-based queries

Time-based queries (e.g., using SLEEP or WAITFOR DELAY)

Elliot’s use of timing delays indicates a time-based blind SQL injection.

From CEH v13 Courseware:

Module 10: Web Application Hacking → SQL Injection Types

SSL/TLS uses a hybrid cryptographic approach:

Asymmetric cryptography is used during the handshake phase to securely exchange symmetric session keys over an insecure network.

After the key exchange, symmetric encryption (e.g., AES) is used for the bulk of data transfer due to its high performance and lower overhead.

This approach balances security and efficiency by leveraging asymmetric encryption for secure key exchange and symmetric encryption for speed.

Reference – CEH v13 Official Study Guide:

Module 20: Cryptography

Section: SSL/TLS

Quote:

“SSL/TLS uses asymmetric cryptography to negotiate keys and symmetric cryptography to encrypt data. This combination ensures secure, fast, and reliable communication.”

Incorrect Options Explained:

A. Not relevant — all devices follow the protocol regardless of capability.

B. There is no failover mechanism as described.

C. Session keys are exchanged during the handshake, not out-of-band.

The best security practice in this scenario is to implement IEEE 802.1X. This is a port-based Network Access Control (NAC) protocol that provides authentication for devices before they are allowed to transmit traffic on the network. It ensures that only authorized users/devices can access the network through physical (wired) or wireless connections.

CEH v13 Official Courseware states:

“802.1X provides a framework for authenticating and authorizing devices attached to a LAN port, enforcing port-based network access control. It helps prevent unauthorized users from connecting to an internal network, particularly in environments where physical access to network jacks cannot be fully controlled.”

Incorrect Options:

A. Disabling unused ports is a good practice, but students may still use open ports intended for authorized personnel. It does not scale or provide identity-based access control.

B. Separating users in VLANs helps in segmentation, but it does not prevent unauthorized physical access to ports.

D. Asking students to use wireless is administrative, not a technical enforcement measure.

Reference – CEH v13 Guide:

Module 04: Enumeration

Topic: Network Access Control (802.1X) and Switch Port Security

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A Network-based Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) monitors all network traffic for signs of suspicious activity across multiple hosts. In large environments with critical assets (e.g., financial or healthcare networks), NIDS is ideal because it provides visibility into entire network segments, not just individual systems.

NIDS can be deployed at strategic points (e.g., DMZs, VLANs, subnets) to detect unauthorized access, malware activity, or policy violations.

Reference – CEH v13 Official Courseware:

Module 13: Evading IDS, Firewalls, and Honeypots

Quote:

“Network-based IDS monitors traffic across an entire subnet or segment and is most effective in large environments to detect malicious activity before it reaches critical assets.”

Incorrect Options Explained:

A. Honeypots attract and log attacker behavior, but do not provide network-wide detection.

B. Firewalls filter traffic but are not detection systems.

D. HIDS monitors activity on a single host only.

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“Boolean based” we mean that it is based on Boolean values, that is, true or false / true and false. AND Time-based SQL Injection is an inferential SQL Injection technique that relies on sending an SQL query to the database which forces the database to wait for a specified amount of time (in seconds) before responding. The response time will indicate to the attacker whether the result of the query is TRUE or FALSE.

Boolean-based (content-based) Blind SQLi

Boolean-based SQL Injection is an inferential SQL Injection technique that relies on sending an SQL query to the database which forces the application to return a different result depending on whether the query returns a TRUE or FALSE result.

Depending on the result, the content within the HTTP response will change, or remain the same. This allows an attacker to infer if the payload used returned true or false, even though no data from the database is returned. This attack is typically slow (especially on large databases) since an attacker would need to enumerate a database, character by character.

Time-based Blind SQLi

Time-based SQL Injection is an inferential SQL Injection technique that relies on sending an SQL query to the database which forces the database to wait for a specified amount of time (in seconds) before responding. The response time will indicate to the attacker whether the result of the query is TRUE or FALSE.

Depending on the result, an HTTP response will be returned with a delay, or returned immediately. This allows an attacker to infer if the payload used returned true or false, even though no data from the database is returned. This attack is typically slow (especially on large databases) since an attacker would need to enumerate a database character by character.

https://www.acunetix.com/websitesecurity/sql-injection2/

A brute force attack is a method of trying different combinations of passwords or keys to gain access to a system or service. It is not a reliable way of detecting a honeypot, as it may trigger an alert or response from the target. Moreover, a brute force attack does not provide any information about the system’s characteristics or behavior that could indicate a honeypot. A honeypot is a decoy system that is designed to attract and trap attackers, while providing security teams with valuable intelligence and insights. Therefore, an ethical hacker needs to use more subtle and stealthy techniques to detect and avoid honeypots.

The other options are valid techniques for detecting a honeypot. Probing system services and observing the three-way handshake can reveal anomalies or inconsistencies in the system’s responses, such as abnormal banners, ports, or protocols. Using honeypot detection tools like Send-Safe Honeypot Hunter can scan the target network and identify potential honeypots based on various criteria, such as IP address, domain name, or open ports. Analyzing the MAC address can detect instances running on VMware, which is a common platform for deploying honeypots. A honeypot running on VMware will have a MAC address that starts with 00:0C:29, 00:50:56, or 00:05:69. References:

What is a Honeypot? Types, Benefits, Risks and Best Practices

Using Honeypots for Network Intrusion Detection

Detecting Honeypot Access With Varonis

Btlejack is a tool used for attacking Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connections, including sniffing, jamming, and hijacking.

The -f option specifies the access address of the BLE connection.

The -j option is used to hijack an active BLE connection.

Therefore, the correct syntax to hijack a BLE connection is:

btlejack -f [access_address] -j

This matches Option A: btlejack -f 0x129f3244 -j

Incorrect Options:

B. -c any is used for sniffing any advertising packet but not for hijacking.

C. -d specifies device paths; -s starts a scan but does not hijack.

D. This is likely a malformed or unrelated command in the context of hijacking.

Reference – CEH v13 Official Courseware:

Module 18: IoT and OT Hacking

Section: “Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Attacks”

Tool Focus: “Btlejack Command Usage”

CEH iLab: Btlejacking with micro:bit

In CEH v13 Module 13: Hacking Web Applications, Server-Side Includes (SSI) is defined as a method for dynamically generating web content through directives embedded in HTML files.

stm File Extension:

Associated with Server Side Includes (SSI).

Files like .stm, .shtml, and .shtm can embed server-side directives.

Vulnerable if user input is improperly handled, allowing command injection or arbitrary file access.

Option Clarification:

A. .stm: Correct – indicates SSI is enabled.

B. .html: Static file, not associated with SSI.

C. .rss: XML feed; irrelevant to SSI.

D. .cms: Generic; doesn’t indicate SSI functionality.

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Windows Messenger administration

Courier administration is an organization based framework notice Windows administration by Microsoft that was remembered for some prior forms of Microsoft Windows.

This resigned innovation, despite the fact that it has a comparable name, isn’t connected in any capacity to the later, Internet-based Microsoft Messenger administration for texting or to Windows Messenger and Windows Live Messenger (earlier named MSN Messenger) customer programming.

The Messenger Service was initially intended for use by framework managers to tell Windows clients about their networks.[1] It has been utilized malevolently to introduce spring up commercials to clients over the Internet (by utilizing mass-informing frameworks which sent an ideal message to a predetermined scope of IP addresses). Despite the fact that Windows XP incorporates a firewall, it isn’t empowered naturally. Along these lines, numerous clients got such messages. Because of this maltreatment, the Messenger Service has been debilitated as a matter of course in Windows XP Service Pack 2.

The Blackjacking attack involves leveraging a compromised BlackBerry device and its connection through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) to tunnel back into the internal corporate network, bypassing perimeter firewalls. The tool used in this method is BBProxy.

BBProxy is installed on the BlackBerry device and establishes a covert tunnel via BES, allowing attackers to pivot into the internal LAN from outside the perimeter.

Reference – CEH v13 Official Study Guide:

Module 17: Hacking Mobile Platforms

Quote:

“Blackjacking is a technique in which attackers use BBProxy to exploit a trusted path from a BlackBerry device to the corporate LAN through BES.”

Incorrect Options Explained:

A. Paros Proxy is a web proxy used for intercepting HTTP/S traffic.

C. Blooover is used for Bluetooth security auditing.

D. BBCrack is used for password recovery on BlackBerry devices, not for tunneling.

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A service-based solution offered by an auditing firm would be the most appropriate type of vulnerability assessment solution for the large e-commerce organization, given their requirements. A service-based solution is a type of vulnerability assessment that is performed by external experts who have the skills, tools, and experience to conduct a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the target system or network. A service-based solution can imitate the outside view of attackers, as the experts are not familiar with the internal details or configurations of the organization. A service-based solution can also perform well-organized inference-based testing, which is a type of testing that uses logical reasoning and deduction to identify and exploit vulnerabilities based on the information gathered from the target. A service-based solution can scan automatically against continuously updated databases, as the experts have access to the latest security intelligence and threat feeds. A service-based solution can also support multiple networks, as the experts can use different techniques and tools to scan different types of networks, such as wired, wireless, cloud, or hybrid12.

The other options are not as appropriate as option B for the following reasons:

A. Inference-based assessment solution: This option is not a type of vulnerability assessment solution, but a type of testing method that can be used by any solution. Inference-based testing is a testing method that uses logical reasoning and deduction to identify and exploit vulnerabilities based on the information gathered from the target. Inference-based testing can be performed by service-based, product-based, or tree-based solutions, depending on the scope, objectives, and resources of the assessment3.

C. Tree-based assessment approach: This option is not a type of vulnerability assessment solution, but a type of testing method that can be used by any solution. Tree-based testing is a testing method that uses a hierarchical structure to organize and prioritize the vulnerabilities based on their severity, impact, and exploitability. Tree-based testing can be performed by service-based, product-based, or inference-based solutions, depending on the scope, objectives, and resources of the assessment4.

D. Product-based solution installed on a private network: This option is a type of vulnerability assessment solution, but it may not meet all the requirements of the large e-commerce organization. A product-based solution is a type of vulnerability assessment that is performed by using software or hardware tools that are installed on the organization’s own network. A product-based solution can scan automatically against continuously updated databases, as the tools can be configured to download and apply the latest security updates and patches. However, a product-based solution may not imitate the outside view of attackers, as the tools may have limited access or visibility to the external network or the internet. A product-based solution may also not perform well-organized inference-based testing, as the tools may rely on predefined rules or signatures to detect and report vulnerabilities, rather than using logical reasoning and deduction. A product-based solution may also not support multiple networks, as the tools may be designed or optimized for a specific type of network, such as wired, wireless, cloud, or hybrid .

From CEH v13 Module 03: Scanning Networks, OS fingerprinting with Nmap (using the -O option) requires privileged access to craft raw packets (especially SYN, ACK, and ICMP). On Unix/Linux systems:

Root privileges are mandatory to perform TCP/IP stack fingerprinting.

If Nmap is run as a normal user, it fails to initiate OS scanning and exits with a message like “QUITTING!”.

So, in this case, the scan fails because the shell opened does not have elevated (root) privileges.

We have various articles already in our documentation for setting up SNMPv2 trap handling in Opsview, but SNMPv3 traps are a whole new ballgame. They can be quite confusing and complicated to set up the first time you go through the process, but when you understand what is going on, everything should make more sense.

SNMP has gone through several revisions to improve performance and security (version 1, 2c and 3). By default, it is a UDP port based protocol where communication is based on a ‘fire and forget’ methodology in which network packets are sent to another device, but there is no check for receipt of that packet (versus TCP port when a network packet must be acknowledged by the other end of the communication link). 

There are two modes of operation with SNMP – get requests (or polling) where one device requests information from an SNMP enabled device on a regular basis (normally using UDP port 161), and traps where the SNMP enabled device sends a message to another device when an event occurs (normally using UDP port 162). The latter includes instances such as someone logging on, the device powering up or down, or a wide variety of other problems that would need this type of investigation.

This blog covers SNMPv3 traps, as polling and version 2c traps are covered elsewhere in our documentation.

SNMP traps

Since SNMP is primarily a UDP port based system, traps may be ‘lost’ when sending between devices; the sending device does not wait to see if the receiver got the trap. This means if the configuration on the sending device is wrong (using the wrong receiver IP address or port) or the receiver isn’t listening for traps or rejecting them out of hand due to misconfiguration, the sender will never know.

The SNMP v2c specification introduced the idea of splitting traps into two types; the original ‘hope it gets there’ trap and the newer ‘INFORM’ traps. Upon receipt of an INFORM, the receiver must send an acknowledgement back. If the sender doesn’t get the acknowledgement back, then it knows there is an existing problem and can log it for sysadmins to find when they interrogate the device.

Webhooks are one of a few ways internet applications will communicate with one another.

It allows you to send real-time data from one application to another whenever a given event happens.

For example, let’s say you’ve created an application using the Foursquare API that tracks when people check into your restaurant. You ideally wish to be able to greet customers by name and provide a complimentary drink when they check in.

What a webhook will is notify you any time someone checks in, therefore you’d be able to run any processes that you simply had in your application once this event is triggered.

The data is then sent over the web from the application wherever the event originally occurred, to the receiving application that handles the data.

Here’s a visual representation of what that looks like:

A webhook url is provided by the receiving application, and acts as a phone number that the other application will call once an event happens.

Only it’s more complicated than a phone number, because data about the event is shipped to the webhook url in either JSON or XML format. this is known as the “payload.”

Here’s an example of what a webhook url looks like with the payload it’s carrying:

What are Webhooks? Webhooks are user-defined HTTP callback or push APIs that are raised based on events triggered, such as comment received on a post and pushing code to the registry. A webhook allows an application to update other applications with the latest information. Once invoked, it supplies data to the other applications, which means that users instantly receive real-time information. Webhooks are sometimes called “Reverse APIs” as they provide what is required for API specification, and the developer should create an API to use a webhook. A webhook is an API concept that is also used to send text messages and notifications to mobile numbers or email addresses from an application when a specific event is triggered. For instance, if you search for something in the online store and the required item is out of stock, you click on the “Notify me” bar to get an alert from the application when that item is available for purchase. These notifications from the applications are usually sent through webhooks.