Free ECCouncil 312-50v13 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 5

*REST is not a specification, tool, or framework, but instead is an architectural style for web services that serves as a communication medium between various systems on the web. *RESTful APIs, which are also known as RESTful services, are designed using REST principles and HTTP communication protocols RESTful is a collection of resources that use HTTP methods such as PUT, POST, GET, and DELETE

RESTful API: RESTful API is a RESTful service that is designed using REST principles and HTTP communication protocols. RESTful is a collection of resources that use HTTP methods such as PUT, POST, GET, and DELETE. RESTful API is also designed to make applications independent to improve the overall performance, visibility, scalability, reliability, and portability of an application. APIs with the following features can be referred to as to RESTful APIs: o Stateless: The client end stores the state of the session; the server is restricted to save data during the request processing o Cacheable: The client should save responses (representations) in the cache. This feature can enhance API performance pg. 1920 CEHv11 manual.

https://cloud.google.com/files/apigee/apigee-web-api-design-the-missing-link-ebook.pdf

The HTTP methods GET, POST, PUT or PATCH, and DELETE can be used with these templates to read, create, update, and delete description resources for dogs and their owners. This API style has become popular for many reasons. It is straightforward and intuitive, and learning this pattern is similar to learning a programming language API. APIs like this one are commonly called RESTful APIs, although they do not display all of the characteristics that define REST (more on REST later).

After the attacker completes preparations, subsequent step is an effort to realize an edge within the target’s environment. a particularly common entry tactic is that the use of spearphishing emails containing an internet link or attachment. Email links usually cause sites where the target’s browser and related software are subjected to varied exploit techniques or where the APT actors plan to social engineer information from the victim which will be used later. If a successful exploit takes place, it installs an initial malware payload on the victim’s computer. Figure 2 illustrates an example of a spearphishing email that contains an attachment. Attachments are usually executable malware, a zipper or other archive containing malware, or a malicious Office or Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) document that exploits vulnerabilities within the victim’s applications to ultimately execute malware on the victim’s computer. Once the user has opened a malicious file using vulnerable software, malware is executing on the target system. These phishing emails are often very convincing and difficult to differentiate from legitimate email messages. Tactics to extend their believability include modifying legitimate documents from or associated with the organization. Documents are sometimes stolen from the organization or their collaborators during previous exploitation operations. Actors modify the documents by adding exploits and malicious code then send them to the victims. Phishing emails are commonly sent through previously compromised email servers, email accounts at organizations associated with the target or public email services. Emails also can be sent through mail relays with modified email headers to form the messages appear to possess originated from legitimate sources. Exploitation of vulnerabilities on public-facing servers is another favorite technique of some APT groups. Though this will be accomplished using exploits for known vulnerabilities, 0-days are often developed or purchased to be used in intrusions as required .

Gaining an edge within the target environment is that the primary goal of the initial intrusion. Once a system is exploited, the attacker usually places malware on the compromised system and uses it as a jump point or proxy for further actions. Malware placed during the initial intrusion phase is usually an easy downloader, basic Remote Access Trojan or an easy shell. Figure 3 illustrates a newly infected system initiating an outbound connection to notify the APT actor that the initial intrusion attempt was successful which it’s able to accept commands.

Appropriately controlling admittance to web content is significant for running a safe web worker. Index crossing or Path Traversal is a HTTP assault which permits aggressors to get to limited catalogs and execute orders outside of the web worker’s root registry.

Web workers give two primary degrees of security instruments

Access Control Lists (ACLs)

Root index

An Access Control List is utilized in the approval cycle. It is a rundown which the web worker’s manager uses to show which clients or gatherings can get to, change or execute specific records on the worker, just as other access rights.

The root registry is a particular index on the worker record framework in which the clients are kept. Clients can’t get to anything over this root.

For instance: the default root registry of IIS on Windows is C:\Inetpub\wwwroot and with this arrangement, a client doesn’t approach C:\Windows yet approaches C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\news and some other indexes and documents under the root catalog (given that the client is confirmed by means of the ACLs).

The root index keeps clients from getting to any documents on the worker, for example, C:\WINDOWS/system32/win.ini on Windows stages and the/and so on/passwd record on Linux/UNIX stages.

This weakness can exist either in the web worker programming itself or in the web application code.

To play out a registry crossing assault, all an assailant requires is an internet browser and some information on where to aimlessly discover any default documents and registries on the framework.

What an assailant can do if your site is defenseless

With a framework defenseless against index crossing, an aggressor can utilize this weakness to venture out of the root catalog and access different pieces of the record framework. This may enable the assailant to see confined documents, which could give the aggressor more data needed to additional trade off the framework.

Contingent upon how the site access is set up, the aggressor will execute orders by mimicking himself as the client which is related with “the site”. Along these lines everything relies upon what the site client has been offered admittance to in the framework.

Illustration of a Directory Traversal assault by means of web application code

In web applications with dynamic pages, input is generally gotten from programs through GET or POST solicitation techniques. Here is an illustration of a HTTP GET demand URL

GET http://test.webarticles.com/show.asp?view=oldarchive.html HTTP/1.1

Host: test.webarticles.com

With this URL, the browser requests the dynamic page show.asp from the server and with it also sends the parameter view with the value of oldarchive.html. When this request is executed on the web server, show.asp retrieves the file oldarchive.html from the server’s file system, renders it and then sends it back to the browser which displays it to the user. The attacker would assume that show.asp can retrieve files from the file system and sends the following custom URL.

GET http://test.webarticles.com/show.asp?view=../../../../../Windows/system.ini HTTP/1.1

Host: test.webarticles.com

This will cause the dynamic page to retrieve the file system.ini from the file system and display it to the user. The expression ../ instructs the system to go one directory up which is commonly used as an operating system directive. The attacker has to guess how many directories he has to go up to find the Windows folder on the system, but this is easily done by trial and error.

Example of a Directory Traversal attack via web server

Apart from vulnerabilities in the code, even the web server itself can be open to directory traversal attacks. The problem can either be incorporated into the web server software or inside some sample script files left available on the server.

The vulnerability has been fixed in the latest versions of web server software, but there are web servers online which are still using older versions of IIS and Apache which might be open to directory traversal attacks. Even though you might be using a web server software version that has fixed this vulnerability, you might still have some sensitive default script directories exposed which are well known to hackers.

For example, a URL request which makes use of the scripts directory of IIS to traverse directories and execute a command can be

GET http://server.com/scripts/..%5c../Windows/System32/cmd.exe?/c+dir+c:\ HTTP/1.1

Host: server.com

The request would return to the user a list of all files in the C:\ directory by executing the cmd.exe command shell file and run the command dir c:\ in the shell. The %5c expression that is in the URL request is a web server escape code which is used to represent normal characters. In this case %5c represents the character \.

Newer versions of modern web server software check for these escape codes and do not let them through. Some older versions however, do not filter out these codes in the root directory enforcer and will let the attackers execute such commands.

If SNMP access is restricted to specific IP addresses (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24), you can bypass access controls by:

Spoofing the source IP to fall within that allowed range.

Using a SNMP set request to instruct the device (e.g., to copy its configuration to a TFTP server).

This is a classic SNMP spoofing attack.

From CEH v13 Courseware:

Module 4: Enumeration → SNMP Enumeration Attacks

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Wireshark on Windows requires WinPcap to operate. WinPcap is a packet capture library that allows network interfaces to operate in promiscuous mode, which is essential for sniffing traffic.

From CEH v13 Courseware:

Module 8: Sniffing → Sniffing Tools → WinPcap for Windows

Tess King is attempting to gather all DNS records from a target zone. This process is referred to as a zone transfer (AXFR), which is typically performed by secondary name servers to synchronize DNS data with the primary. If improperly secured, attackers can initiate unauthorized zone transfers to enumerate valuable information such as:

Hostnames

IP addresses

Mail servers

Name servers

CEH v13 defines a zone transfer as a crucial step in DNS enumeration.

From CEH v13 Official Courseware:

Module 3: Scanning Networks

Topic: DNS Enumeration → Zone Transfers

CEH v13 Study Guide states:

“A zone transfer (AXFR) is a DNS transaction used to replicate DNS databases. Attackers can exploit this feature to extract all DNS information from an improperly secured server.”

Incorrect Options:

A. Zone harvesting is not a formal term.

C. Zone update refers to DNS dynamic update operations (e.g., DDNS).

D. Zone estimate is not a DNS-related process.

A pharming attacker tries to send a web site’s traffic to a faux website controlled by the offender, typically for the aim of collection sensitive data from victims or putting in malware on their machines. Attacker tend to specialize in making look-alike ecommerce and digital banking websites to reap credentials and payment card data.

Though they share similar goals, pharming uses a special technique from phishing. “Pharming attacker are targeted on manipulating a system, instead of tricking people into reaching to a dangerous web site,” explains David Emm, principal security man of science at Kaspersky. “When either a phishing or pharming attacker is completed by a criminal, they need a similar driving issue to induce victims onto a corrupt location, however the mechanisms during which this is often undertaken are completely different.”

To perform a thorough password assessment, Bob can use:

Hardware Keyloggers: Installed between the keyboard and computer; captures keystrokes.

Software Keyloggers: Installed on the OS; logs keystrokes and system activity.

Network Sniffing: Captures plaintext passwords from unencrypted protocols (e.g., FTP, Telnet).

From CEH v13 Official Courseware:

Module 4: Enumeration

Module 6: Malware Threats

Module 8: Sniffing

CEH v13 Study Guide states:

“A comprehensive password audit can involve passive sniffing of credentials on the wire, software keyloggers for direct input capture, and hardware keyloggers for stealthy physical surveillance.”

Incorrect Options:

B, C, D: Limiting to just one method misses out on broader techniques.

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 .

If a system stores passwords in weak or reversible formats, attackers can perform offline cracking. CEH emphasizes dictionary attacks as the fastest and most efficient method to exploit weak hashing practices. This avoids detection and leverages known password patterns to recover plaintext credentials.

Per CEH v13 Official Courseware – Module 01: Introduction to Ethical Hacking, ethical hackers and penetration testers are bound by legal and professional standards. When illegal activities such as human trafficking are discovered:

The ethical response is to cease operations and report the findings to the appropriate legal authorities.

Continuing work, ignoring the findings, or confronting the client personally is both unprofessional and may potentially expose the tester to legal liability.

SOX stands for Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. It is a U.S. federal law enacted to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and corporate fraud.

Key points:

Requires strict internal controls and financial disclosures in publicly traded companies.

Mandates regular audits and IT security controls related to financial data.

Applies especially to accounting systems, databases, access controls, and IT procedures related to financial reporting.

Incorrect Options:

A. PCI-DSS relates to securing credit card data.

B. FISMA pertains to federal agency cybersecurity standards.

D. ISO/IEC 27001:2013 is an international information security standard, not a legal requirement for financial integrity.

Reference – CEH v13 Official Courseware:

Module 01: Introduction to Ethical Hacking

Section: “Compliance and Legal Concepts”

Table: "Major Laws and Regulations in Information Security"

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Burp Suite is a comprehensive web vulnerability scanner and testing suite widely used in penetration testing and ethical hacking.

Key features include:

Intercepting proxy: Allows inspection and modification of traffic between the browser and target server.

Session hijacking/testing tools

Intruder and Repeater modules for customized payload injection

Sequencer module for testing session token randomness

Extensibility through plugins and custom scripts

Incorrect Options:

A. Nmap is a network scanning tool, not used for intercepting web traffic.

C. CxSAST (Checkmarx) is a static application security testing (SAST) tool.

D. Wireshark is a packet analyzer but does not include intercepting proxy features or token testing.

Reference – CEH v13 Official Courseware:

Module 14: Hacking Web Applications

Section: “Burp Suite as a Web Vulnerability Testing Tool”

CEH iLab: Using Burp Suite for Web App Testing

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Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

TCPView is a Windows Sysinternals utility that provides a real-time graphical view of:

TCP and UDP endpoints on the system

Listening, established, and closing states

Associated process names using the connections

It’s ideal for administrators or analysts looking to monitor and troubleshoot live network activity.

From CEH v13 Courseware:

Module 3: Scanning Networks → Tools for Port and Service Discovery

Incorrect Options:

A. Netstat provides snapshot (static) info, not real-time with process association.

C. Nmap is used for remote scanning, not real-time local monitoring.

D. Loki is a covert channel tool used for stealthy communication.

CEH materials describe RDDoS (Ransom DDoS) attacks as threat-driven extortion campaigns where attackers demand payment and demonstrate capability by launching a short-lived DDoS burst. The purpose is to intimidate the victim into paying before a larger, sustained attack begins. The attack described uses HTTP floods with incomplete POST requests—an application-layer DDoS technique that consumes server resources by forcing the target to hold open connections. This kind of demonstration followed by an extortion email aligns precisely with RDDoS behavior. DRDoS attacks involve reflection/amplification through third-party servers, which is not occurring here. Pulse wave attacks use timed bursts and do not involve extortion, while recursive GET floods do not match the incomplete POST behavior. Therefore, the correct classification is RDDoS.