CAS-004 Security Operations Practice Question
During a penetration test, the tester gains access to a web server and wants to escalate privileges to root. The tester discovers that the web application runs with a service account that has the SeImpersonatePrivilege enabled. Which attack is most likely to succeed for privilege escalation?
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
✓
JuicyPotato attack
SeImpersonatePrivilege allows a process to impersonate a user token. Tools like JuicyPotato exploit this privilege to impersonate SYSTEM by forcing a higher-privileged process to authenticate and then stealing its token. This is a common technique for local privilege escalation on Windows.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
SQL injection
Why it's wrong here
SQL injection is for database access, not privilege escalation on the OS.
- ✗
Pass-the-hash attack
Why it's wrong here
Pass-the-hash is for lateral movement, not local privilege escalation.
- ✗
DLL hijacking
Why it's wrong here
DLL hijacking can provide code execution but does not specifically leverage SeImpersonatePrivilege.
- ✓
JuicyPotato attack
Why this is correct
JuicyPotato exploits SeImpersonatePrivilege to escalate to SYSTEM.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CAS-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CAS-005 exam.