CEH Practice Question: Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks
During a penetration test, an analyst uses a tool that sends forged ARP replies to associate the attacker's MAC address with the IP address of the default gateway. This technique allows the attacker to intercept traffic. Which tool is commonly used for this purpose?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse passive sniffing tools (like Wireshark or tcpdump) with active attack tools, assuming any packet capture tool can also inject packets, but only dedicated MITM tools like Ettercap implement ARP spoofing.
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
✓
Ettercap
Ettercap is a comprehensive suite for man-in-the-middle attacks on LAN. It supports ARP poisoning, where it sends forged ARP replies to associate the attacker's MAC address with the IP address of the default gateway. This causes the target's traffic destined for the gateway to be sent to the attacker, allowing interception and modification of packets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Ettercap
Why this is correct
Ettercap performs ARP poisoning by forging ARP replies that bind the attacker's MAC address to the gateway's IP, placing the attacker inline to intercept traffic. Its built-in sniffing and MITM plugins make it the standard tool for this gateway-spoofing scenario.
- ✗
Wireshark
Why it's wrong here
Wireshark captures and analyses packets passively; it cannot forge ARP replies or redirect a gateway's traffic. It tempts because it is the standard tool for observing ARP poisoning's effects and inspecting intercepted traffic, but it is the detector, not the attack tool.
- ✗
Nmap
Why it's wrong here
Nmap performs port scanning, service and OS fingerprinting, and its scripting engine can craft packets, but it does not natively poison ARP caches to MITM traffic. It tempts because Nmap is the default reconnaissance tool in most penetration tests, and its scripts blur the boundary.
- ✗
tcpdump
Why it's wrong here
tcpdump captures and displays packets; it cannot forge ARP replies or poison the gateway's ARP cache, so no interception occurs. It is tempting because it is a packet-capture tool used to inspect the traffic after a man-in-the-middle attack has already been established with a tool such as arpspoof.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
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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.