200-201 Network Intrusion Analysis Practice Question
During a PCAP analysis, a security analyst notices an HTTP request with the URI parameter 'id=1 UNION SELECT username,password FROM users--'. What is the most likely attack being attempted?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is misidentifying the attack as XSS or command injection due to the presence of SQL keywords, especially if the analyst is not familiar with SQL syntax.
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
✓
SQL injection
The payload 'id=1 UNION SELECT username,password FROM users--' is a classic SQL injection attempt. It uses a UNION operator to combine the original query with a malicious one that extracts sensitive data from the users table, and the double dash comments out the rest of the original query.
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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Command injection
Why it's wrong here
The payload is a SQL injection: UNION SELECT appends attacker-chosen columns to the original query. Command injection instead appends shell metacharacters such as semicolons or pipes to an OS call. The SQL keywords make command injection tempting, but no shell command is being executed.
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Cross-site scripting (XSS)
Why it's wrong here
XSS typically involves script tags, not UNION SELECT.
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Directory traversal
Why it's wrong here
Directory traversal manipulates filesystem paths using sequences like '../' to read files outside the web root; this payload instead injects SQL syntax to append a UNION query, indicating SQL injection. Traversal would be the answer if the URI contained encoded path segments targeting configuration or password files.
- ✓
SQL injection
Why this is correct
The payload 'UNION SELECT username,password FROM users--' appends a second query to the original, harvesting credential columns and commenting out the remainder. This is textbook SQL injection, exploiting unsanitised input in the 'id' parameter to exfiltrate database contents.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Cisco exam blueprint
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.