CEH Practice Question: Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks
A security analyst reviews logs and notices that an attacker crafted a packet with a source IP address matching the target's IP address, and sent it to a network's broadcast address. Which type of attack does this describe?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse the Smurf attack with a simple ICMP flood or Ping of Death, but the key differentiator is the use of a broadcast address to amplify traffic, not just sending malformed or high-volume ICMP packets.
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
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Smurf attack
The Smurf attack is a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that exploits ICMP echo request packets. The attacker spoofs the source IP address to be the target's IP and sends these packets to a network's broadcast address. All hosts on that network then reply to the target, overwhelming it with ICMP echo replies.
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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UDP flood
Why it's wrong here
A UDP flood involves an attacker overwhelming a target system by sending a large volume of UDP packets, often to random high-numbered ports. The target machine expends resources processing these unsolicited packets, attempting to determine which application, if any, is listening on the specified port. This attack specifically utilizes the connectionless UDP protocol and does not involve ICMP echo requests or network broadcast addresses, making it distinct from the described scenario.
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Ping of Death
Why it's wrong here
The Ping of Death attack exploits vulnerabilities in a system's ability to handle fragmented IP packets. An attacker sends an ICMP echo request packet that is larger than the maximum allowed IP packet size (65,535 bytes) after reassembly. This oversized packet, when reassembled by the target, could cause buffer overflows or system crashes, but it does not involve sending packets to a network broadcast address for amplification.
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Smurf attack
Why this is correct
A Smurf attack is a classic distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) technique that leverages an intermediary network to amplify traffic against a victim. The attacker sends an ICMP echo request packet to a network's IP broadcast address, but with the source IP address spoofed to that of the intended victim. All hosts on the intermediary network that receive the broadcast then reply to the spoofed source IP, flooding the victim with numerous ICMP echo replies. This amplification effect can quickly overwhelm the victim's network resources.
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SYN flood
Why it's wrong here
A SYN flood is a denial-of-service attack that exploits the TCP three-way handshake mechanism. The attacker sends a high volume of TCP SYN (synchronize) requests to a target server but never completes the handshake by sending the final ACK packet. This leaves numerous half-open connections on the server, consuming its resources and preventing legitimate users from establishing new connections. This attack specifically targets TCP services and does not involve ICMP packets or network broadcast addresses.
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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.