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PT0-002 Practice Question: A penetration tester has captured NTLM hashes…
A penetration tester has captured NTLM hashes from a compromised machine and wants to move laterally to a server that requires NTLM authentication. The tester does not have the plaintext password. Which attack technique is MOST appropriate for authenticating using the captured hashes?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between pass-the-hash and NTLM relay, where candidates confuse the need for an active relay target versus simply using a captured hash to authenticate directly.
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
✓
Pass-the-hash
Pass-the-hash (PtH) is the most appropriate technique because it allows the tester to authenticate to the target server using the captured NTLM hash directly, without needing the plaintext password. NTLM authentication uses the hash as a secret, so the hash can be passed to the server in the challenge-response handshake. This is a well-known lateral movement technique in Windows environments.
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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Brute force the password from the hash
Why it's wrong here
While a captured NTLM hash can be subjected to offline brute-force or dictionary attacks to recover the plaintext password, this process is computationally expensive and may take a long time for complex passwords. In practice, finding the plaintext is not a prerequisite for leveraging the hash, as other attacks use the hash directly for authentication. Therefore, brute-forcing is inefficient when the hash itself is sufficient to gain access.
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Pass-the-hash
Why this is correct
Pass-the-hash (PtH) exploits the fact that NTLM challenge-response authentication relies on the NTLM hash as the secret, not the plaintext password. By using the captured hash (e.g., from 'pwdump' or Mimikatz's 'sekurlsa::logonpasswords') in an SMB authentication handshake, the attacker can impersonate the compromised user on remote systems. This allows lateral movement across the domain without ever knowing the password, making it a preferred post-exploitation technique.
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NTLM relay
Why it's wrong here
NTLM relay is a network-level attack where the attacker positions themselves between a client and a server, intercepting an ongoing NTLM authentication exchange (challenge/response) and forwarding it to a target server to authenticate as the client. It requires on-path capability and a live authentication attempt, rather than using an already-captured hash. While both PtH and relay exploit NTLM hash knowledge, relay operates during the authentication flow, whereas PtH directly presents the captured hash as the credential.
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Kerberoasting
Why it's wrong here
Kerberoasting is a Kerberos-specific attack targeting TGS tickets requested for service accounts that have Service Principal Names (SPNs). The attacker extracts a TGS ticket from memory (e.g., via 'tgsrepcrack' or 'GetUserSPNs') and cracks it offline because the ticket is encrypted with the service account's NTLM hash. This attack obtains the hash within the ticket and then cracks it, making it a method to recover plaintext passwords, not a way to use a pre-captured NTLM hash for immediate authentication.
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Penetration Testing Methodology
Key term
Lateral movement
Lateral movement is the technique attackers use to move through a network from one compromised system to another, seeking sensitive data or higher privileges.
Key term
Pass-the-hash
Pass-the-hash is a cyberattack where an attacker captures the hash of a user's password and uses it to authenticate to other systems without ever knowing the actual password.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PT0-003 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 PT0-003 exam.