Free CompTIA PT0-003 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 6

DREAD (Damage, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected Users, Discoverability) is a threat modeling framework used to assess and prioritize risks.

Option A (Web application test) ❌: While DREAD can be used in web security, PTES (Penetration Testing Execution Standard) is a better framework for conducting pentests.

Option B (Mobile application test) ❌: PTES provides guidelines for mobile security testing, whereas DREAD is for threat modeling.

Option C (Thick client application) ❌: Thick clients require specific testing methodologies, not DREAD.

Option D (Creating a threat model) ✅: Correct.

DREAD is designed for risk assessment and prioritization.

PTES focuses on penetration testing execution, not threat modeling.

???? Reference: CompTIA PenTest+ PT0-003 Official Guide – Threat Modeling with DREAD vs. PTES

When developing a phishing campaign, the tester should first use social media to gather information about the targets.

Social Media:

Purpose: Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter provide valuable information about individuals, including their job roles, contact details, interests, and connections.

Reconnaissance: This information helps craft convincing and targeted phishing emails, increasing the likelihood of success.

Process:

Gathering Information: Collect details about the target employees, such as their names, job titles, email addresses, and any personal information that can make the phishing email more credible.

Crafting Phishing Emails: Use the gathered information to personalize phishing emails, making them appear legitimate and relevant to the recipients.

Other Options:

Shoulder Surfing: Observing someone’s screen or keyboard input to gain information, not suitable for gathering broad information for a phishing campaign.

Recon-ng: A tool for automated reconnaissance, useful but more general. Social media is specifically targeted for gathering personal information.

Password Dumps: Using previously leaked passwords to find potential targets is more invasive and less relevant to the initial stage of developing a phishing campaign.

Pentest References:

Spear Phishing: A targeted phishing attack aimed at specific individuals, using personal information to increase the credibility of the email.

OSINT (Open Source Intelligence): Leveraging publicly available information to gather intelligence on targets, including through social media.

By starting with social media, the penetration tester can collect detailed and personalized information about the targets, which is essential for creating an effective spear phishing campaign.

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WiFi-Pumpkin is used for man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks on Wi-Fi networks, making it ideal for intercepting and accessing data.

Option A (Metasploit) ❌: Good for exploitation, but not specialized for Wi-Fi attacks.

Option B (WiFi-Pumpkin) ✅: Correct.

Creates fake Wi-Fi access points.

Intercepts network traffic (SSL stripping, DNS spoofing).

Option C (SET - Social Engineering Toolkit) ❌: Focuses on phishing, not Wi-Fi attacks.

Option D (theHarvester) ❌: Used for OSINT, not Wi-Fi exploitation.

Option E (WiGLE.net) ❌: Maps Wi-Fi networks, but does not capture sensitive data.

???? Reference: CompTIA PenTest+ PT0-003 Official Guide – Wireless Attacks & Fake APs

Evaluation Criteria:

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System): Indicates the severity of vulnerabilities, with higher scores representing more critical vulnerabilities.

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System): Estimates the likelihood of a vulnerability being exploited in the wild.

Analysis:

hrdatabase: CVSS = 9.9, EPSS = 0.50

financesite: CVSS = 8.0, EPSS = 0.01

legaldatabase: CVSS = 8.2, EPSS = 0.60

fileserver: CVSS = 7.6, EPSS = 0.90

Selection Justification:

fileserver has the highest EPSS score of 0.90, indicating a high likelihood of exploitation despite having a slightly lower CVSS score compared to other targets.

This makes it a critical target for immediate testing to mitigate potential exploitation risks.

Pentest References:

Risk Prioritization: Balancing between severity (CVSS) and exploitability (EPSS) is crucial for effective vulnerability management.

Risk Assessment: Evaluating both the impact and the likelihood of exploitation helps in making informed decisions about testing priorities.

By selecting the fileserver, the penetration tester focuses on a target that is highly likely to be exploited, addressing the most immediate risk based on the given scores.

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Based on the findings, the focus should be on addressing vulnerabilities in libraries and ensuring their security. Here’s why options D and E are correct:

Implement an SCA Tool:

SCA (Software Composition Analysis) tools are designed to analyze and manage open-source components in an application. Implementing an SCA tool would help in identifying and managing vulnerabilities in libraries, aligning with the finding of vulnerable libraries in the secure SDLC process.

This recommendation addresses the high-risk finding related to the Secure SDLC by providing a systematic approach to manage and mitigate vulnerabilities in software dependencies.

Obtain the Latest Library Version:

Keeping libraries up to date is a fundamental practice in maintaining the security of an application. Ensuring that the latest, most secure versions of libraries are used directly addresses the high-risk finding related to vulnerable libraries.

This recommendation is a direct and immediate action to mitigate the identified vulnerabilities.

Other Options Analysis:

Develop a Secure Encryption Algorithm: This is not practical or necessary given that the issue is with the use of a weak algorithm, not the need to develop a new one.

Deploy an Asset Management System: While useful, this is not directly related to the identified high-risk issue of vulnerable libraries.

Write an SDLC Policy: While helpful, the more immediate and effective actions involve implementing tools and processes to manage and update libraries.

References from Pentest:

Horizontall HTB: Demonstrates the importance of managing software dependencies and using tools to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in libraries​​.

Writeup HTB: Highlights the need for keeping libraries updated to ensure application security and mitigate risks​​.

Conclusion:

Options D and E, implementing an SCA tool and obtaining the latest library version, are the most appropriate recommendations to address the high-risk finding related to vulnerable libraries in the Secure SDLC process.

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Banner grabbing is a technique used to obtain information about a network service, including its version number, by connecting to the service and reading the response.

Understanding Banner Grabbing:

Purpose: Identify the software version running on a service by reading the initial response banner.

Methods: Can be performed manually using tools like Telnet or automatically using tools like Nmap.

Manual Banner Grabbing:

Step-by-Step Explanationtelnet target_ip 80

Netcat: Another tool for banner grabbing.

nc target_ip 80

Automated Banner Grabbing:

Nmap: Use Nmap’s version detection feature to grab banners.

nmap -sV target_ip

Benefits:

Information Disclosure: Quickly identify the version and sometimes configuration details of the service.

Targeted Exploits: Helps in selecting appropriate exploits based on the identified version.

References from Pentesting Literature:

Banner grabbing is a fundamental technique in reconnaissance, discussed in various penetration testing guides.

HTB write-ups often include banner grabbing as a step in identifying the version of services.

To see any vulnerabilities that may be visible from outside of the organization, the penetration tester should perform an unauthenticated scan.

Unauthenticated Scan:

Definition: An unauthenticated scan is conducted without providing any credentials to the scanning tool. It simulates the perspective of an external attacker who does not have any prior access to the system.

Purpose: Identifies vulnerabilities that are exposed to the public and can be exploited without authentication. This includes open ports, outdated software, and misconfigurations visible to the outside world.

Comparison with Other Scans:

SAST (Static Application Security Testing): Analyzes source code for vulnerabilities, typically used during the development phase and not suitable for external vulnerability scanning.

Sidecar: This term is generally associated with microservices architecture and is not relevant to the context of vulnerability scanning.

Host-based: Involves scanning from within the network and often requires authenticated access to the host to identify vulnerabilities. It is not suitable for determining external vulnerabilities.

Pentest References:

External Vulnerability Assessment: Conducting unauthenticated scans helps identify the attack surface exposed to external threats and prioritizes vulnerabilities that are accessible from the internet.

Tools: Common tools for unauthenticated scanning include Nessus, OpenVAS, and Nmap.

By performing an unauthenticated scan, the penetration tester can identify vulnerabilities that an external attacker could exploit without needing any credentials or internal access.

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Port 445 is used for SMB (Server Message Block) services, which are commonly targeted for hash-based relay attacks like NTLM relay attacks.

Understanding Hash-Based Relays:

NTLM Relay Attack: An attacker intercepts and relays NTLM authentication requests to another service, effectively performing authentication on behalf of the victim.

SMB Protocol: Port 445 is used for SMB/CIFS traffic, which supports NTLM authentication.

Prioritizing Port 445:

Vulnerability: SMB is often targeted because it frequently supports NTLM authentication, making it susceptible to relay attacks.

Tools: Tools like Responder and NTLMRelayX are commonly used to capture and relay NTLM hashes over SMB.

Execution:

Capture Hash: Use a tool like Responder to capture NTLM hashes.

Relay Hash: Use a tool like NTLMRelayX to relay the captured hash to another service on port 445.

References from Pentesting Literature:

Penetration testing guides frequently discuss targeting SMB (port 445) for hash-based relay attacks.

HTB write-ups often include examples of NTLM relay attacks using port 445.

Step-by-Step ExplanationReferences:

Penetration Testing - A Hands-on Introduction to Hacking

HTB Official Writeups

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To maintain persistence after a reboot, the tester needs a method that automatically restarts when the system reboots.

Option A (Reverse shell) ❌: Reverse shells do not persist after a reboot unless paired with scheduled tasks or registry modifications.

Option B (Process injection) ❌: Injecting into a process is temporary—once the system reboots, the injected process is gone.

Option C (Scheduled task) ✅: Correct.

A scheduled task can execute malware, reverse shells, or scripts on system startup, ensuring persistence.

Example:

schtasks /create /sc onlogon /tn "SystemUpdate" /tr "C:\malicious.exe"

Option D (Credential dumping) ❌: While useful for privilege escalation, it does not provide persistence.

???? Reference: CompTIA PenTest+ PT0-003 Official Guide – Persistence Techniques

Given the output, the penetration tester should select the fileserver as the next target for testing, considering both CVSS and EPSS scores.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System):

Purpose: CVSS provides a numerical score to represent the severity of vulnerabilities, helping to prioritize remediation efforts.

Higher Scores: Indicate more severe vulnerabilities.

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System):

Purpose: EPSS estimates the likelihood that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days.

Higher Scores: Indicate a higher likelihood of exploitation.

Evaluation:

hrdatabase: CVSS = 9.9, EPSS = 0.50

financesite: CVSS = 8.0, EPSS = 0.01

legaldatabase: CVSS = 8.2, EPSS = 0.60

fileserver: CVSS = 7.6, EPSS = 0.90

The fileserver has the highest EPSS score, indicating a high likelihood of exploitation, despite having a slightly lower CVSS score compared to hrdatabase and legaldatabase.

Pentest References:

Prioritization: Balancing between severity (CVSS) and exploitability (EPSS) is crucial for effective vulnerability management.

Risk Assessment: Evaluating both the impact and the likelihood of exploitation helps in making informed decisions about testing priorities.

By selecting the fileserver, which has a high EPSS score, the penetration tester focuses on a target that is more likely to be exploited, thereby addressing the most immediate risk.

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