PT0-002 Attacks and Exploits Practice Question
A penetration tester wants to perform a pass-the-hash attack against a Windows target. Which tools can be used to authenticate using an NTLM hash without knowing the plaintext password? (Choose the best option.)
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
✓
CrackMapExec
CrackMapExec is a popular tool for pass-the-hash attacks across many Windows services.
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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Nmap
Why it's wrong here
Nmap is a network scanning and enumeration utility that discovers live hosts, open ports, and running services. While its NSE scripting engine can send SMB probes and retrieve version information, it does not provide functionality to submit an NTLM hash as an authentication credential. Consequently, it cannot replay a captured hash to establish an authenticated SMB or WinRM session, making it unsuitable for pass-the-hash attacks.
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Responder
Why it's wrong here
Responder is an LLMNR/NBT-NS/mDNS poisoning tool that answers name resolution requests to trick clients into sending authentication challenge/response data. It captures NetNTLMv1/v2 hashes as they traverse the network, but it only records these hashes for offline cracking or subsequent relay attacks; it does not take a known hash and directly use it to authenticate to a remote host. Therefore, Responder is a hash-capture and poisoning tool, not a pass-the-hash execution tool.
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Wireshark
Why it's wrong here
Wireshark is a passive network protocol analyzer that captures and decodes traffic, including NTLM authentication exchanges. It is entirely passive and never sends packets, let alone authenticates using a captured hash or password. Although a pentester can extract hashes from captured SMB sessions, Wireshark has no mechanism to actively authenticate to a target service with that hash, so it cannot perform a pass-the-hash attack.
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CrackMapExec
Why this is correct
CrackMapExec is a post-exploitation and lateral movement tool that natively supports pass-the-hash by accepting NTLM hashes via the -H or --hash parameter. It actively authenticates to SMB, WinRM, and other services using the supplied hash, enabling command execution, credential dumping, and domain enumeration across multiple hosts. This makes it a direct and effective utility for conducting pass-the-hash attacks in a penetration test.
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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.