Question 5 of 1,152

Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The correct answer is session hijacking, because a stolen session token was reused to impersonate the user. This attack works when an attacker captures a valid session cookie—often from browser debug logs, network traffic, or cross-site scripting—and replays it to gain unauthorized access without needing the user’s credentials. On the Security+ SY0-701 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how session management failures, such as failing to invalidate cookies on logout, enable session hijacking. A common trap is confusing this with a man-in-the-middle attack, but the key distinction here is that the attacker directly reuses the stolen cookie rather than intercepting traffic in real time. Remember the memory tip: “Cookie reuse = session hijack; if it’s stolen and replayed, it’s not a fresh login.”

SY0-701 Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations Practice Question

This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigations. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

A help desk technician reviews a ticket where a user says they logged out of the payroll portal, but another employee who found the session cookie in a browser debug log could still access the account until the session expired. Which attack best matches this behavior?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
Session hijacking, because a stolen session token was reused to impersonate the user.
If a valid session cookie can be reused by someone else, the attacker is effectively taking over the active session without knowing the password.
B
Pretexting, because the attacker pretended to be an authorized employee on a phone call.
Why wrong: Pretexting is a social engineering technique, but the scenario focuses on reuse of an existing web session token, not deception by conversation.
C
CSRF, because the victim was tricked into sending unwanted requests from their browser.
Why wrong: CSRF uses the victim's authenticated browser to submit actions, but it does not involve stealing and reusing the session cookie itself.
D
Insecure deserialization, because serialized objects were accepted without validation.
Why wrong: Insecure deserialization involves unsafe object handling on the server, which is unrelated to a reused session token from a browser log.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Session hijacking, because a stolen session token was reused to impersonate the user.

Option A is correct because the described behavior—where a session cookie stolen from a browser debug log is reused by another employee to access the payroll portal—is a classic session hijacking attack. Session hijacking occurs when an attacker captures a valid session token (e.g., a cookie containing a session ID) and uses it to impersonate the authenticated user, bypassing the need for credentials. In this case, the session cookie was not invalidated upon logout, allowing the attacker to reuse it until the session's expiration time.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✓
Session hijacking, because a stolen session token was reused to impersonate the user.
Why this is correct
If a valid session cookie can be reused by someone else, the attacker is effectively taking over the active session without knowing the password.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Pretexting, because the attacker pretended to be an authorized employee on a phone call.
Why it's wrong here
Pretexting is a social engineering technique, but the scenario focuses on reuse of an existing web session token, not deception by conversation.
✗
CSRF, because the victim was tricked into sending unwanted requests from their browser.
Why it's wrong here
CSRF uses the victim's authenticated browser to submit actions, but it does not involve stealing and reusing the session cookie itself.
✗
Insecure deserialization, because serialized objects were accepted without validation.
Why it's wrong here
Insecure deserialization involves unsafe object handling on the server, which is unrelated to a reused session token from a browser log.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates may confuse session hijacking with CSRF, but the key distinction is that session hijacking involves stealing and reusing an existing session token, whereas CSRF tricks the victim's browser into performing actions using the victim's own active session.

Trap categories for this question

Scenario analysis trap
Pretexting is a social engineering technique, but the scenario focuses on reuse of an existing web session token, not deception by conversation.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Session hijacking exploits the fact that many web applications rely on HTTP cookies or URL tokens to maintain session state, often without binding the session to the client's IP address or other unique identifiers. In real-world scenarios, attackers can steal session cookies via cross-site scripting (XSS), network sniffing (e.g., over unencrypted HTTP), or by accessing browser developer tools as described. The attack succeeds because the server does not validate the session token against additional factors like user-agent or IP, and the session remains valid until it expires or is explicitly invalidated.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

An employee at a financial services firm receives an email that appears to come from the IT helpdesk, asking them to reset their password via a link. The link leads to a convincing fake portal that harvests credentials. Security teams use phishing simulations and security-awareness training to reduce this attack vector. Questions like this test whether you can identify social engineering techniques and appropriate controls.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this SY0-701 question test?

Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations — This question tests Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Mitigations — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Session hijacking, because a stolen session token was reused to impersonate the user. — Option A is correct because the described behavior—where a session cookie stolen from a browser debug log is reused by another employee to access the payroll portal—is a classic session hijacking attack. Session hijacking occurs when an attacker captures a valid session token (e.g., a cookie containing a session ID) and uses it to impersonate the authenticated user, bypassing the need for credentials. In this case, the session cookie was not invalidated upon logout, allowing the attacker to reuse it until the session's expiration time.

What should I do if I get this SY0-701 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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