200-201 Network Intrusion Analysis Practice Question
A security analyst is investigating a potential exploit. The PCAP shows a HTTP POST request containing a long string of characters that, when decoded, reveals a series of return-oriented programming (ROP) gadgets. What is the likely purpose of this payload?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Exploitation
ROP gadgets are used to bypass non-executable memory protections by chaining together small code sequences to execute arbitrary code. This is an exploitation technique.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Lateral movement
Why it's wrong here
Lateral movement uses SMB or other protocols.
- ✗
Privilege escalation
Why it's wrong here
ROP can be used for escalation, but primary purpose is exploitation.
- ✓
Exploitation
Why this is correct
ROP is a code-reuse exploitation technique.
- ✗
Persistence
Why it's wrong here
Persistence ensures malware survives reboot.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.