200-201 Network Intrusion Analysis Practice Question
An analyst is reviewing a PCAP and sees multiple HTTP requests with the parameter 'id=1 UNION SELECT username,password FROM users'. What type of attack is being attempted?
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
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SQL injection
The SQL keywords UNION and SELECT in a parameter indicate a SQL injection attempt to extract data from the database.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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SQL injection
Why this is correct
The payload injects a UNION SELECT clause into the id parameter, appending a query that returns usernames and passwords. This is classic SQL injection: attacker-supplied SQL is concatenated into the backend query, letting the database return data it should not expose.
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Directory traversal
Why it's wrong here
The payload is a SQL injection, using UNION SELECT to append rows from the users table to the original query result. Directory traversal manipulates file paths (../) to escape a web root and read files outside it, so it would be the answer only if the requests contained path traversal sequences targeting the filesystem.
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Cross-site scripting (XSS)
Why it's wrong here
XSS uses script tags, not SQL keywords.
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Command injection
Why it's wrong here
The payload manipulates a SQL statement to return extra columns, whereas command injection appends shell commands executed by the host operating system. Command injection is tempting because both exploit unsanitised input reaching an interpreter, and would be correct if the parameter passed to a system call.
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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.