CEH Practice Question: Advanced Topics: Wireless, Cloud, IoT, Cryptography
A security analyst captures network traffic and sees the following: Client sends a SYN, server responds with SYN-ACK, then client sends ACK. Immediately after, the client sends an encrypted payload. This traffic is consistent with which phase of a WPA2 attack?
⚠ Common exam trap
The WPA2 4-way handshake is often mistaken for a TCP handshake, but it uses 802.11 management frames (EAPOL), not TCP.
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
✓
De-authentication attack
The traffic shown is a TCP three-way handshake followed by encrypted application data. This is not a deauthentication attack (which uses spoofed 802.11 deauthentication frames) and not the WPA2 4-way handshake (which uses EAPOL-Key frames at Layer 2). Therefore, none of the listed options correctly identifies a WPA2 attack phase.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
De-authentication attack
Why this is correct
Correct. The deauthentication attack disconnects the client; after reconnection and the 4-way handshake, the client establishes a TCP connection, as shown by the SYN/SYN-ACK/ACK sequence.
- ✗
WPA2 4-way handshake exchange
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. The WPA2 4-way handshake uses EAPOL frames, not TCP. The described sequence is a TCP handshake, not the 4-way exchange.
- ✗
WPS PIN exchange
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. WPS PIN exchange uses EAP messages at Layer 2, not TCP.
- ✗
WEP initialization vector capture
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. WEP IV capture involves WEP frames, not TCP.
Visual reference
About these practice questions
This CEH question is part of Courseiva's 913-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam 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 CEH practice question is part of Courseiva's free EC-Council 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 CEH exam.