CEH Web Application and Injection Attacks Practice Question
During a web application test, a penetration tester intercepts a request using Burp Suite Proxy, modifies the 'Referer' header, and resends the request. The application processes the request despite the modified header. Which attack is the tester attempting to validate?
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
✓
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) attacks often rely on the Referer header for validation. By modifying it, the tester checks if the application validates the header. If the request is processed, the application is vulnerable to CSRF.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
Why it's wrong here
Modifying the "Referer" header does not constitute Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF). SSRF vulnerabilities occur when a web server is tricked into making arbitrary requests to internal or external resources on behalf of the attacker, often by manipulating URL parameters or POST data that the server then processes. The "Referer" header, however, is a client-supplied header indicating the previous page, and its modification does not inherently cause the server to initiate new, arbitrary backend connections.
- ✗
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Why it's wrong here
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) involves injecting malicious client-side scripts, typically JavaScript, into web pages viewed by other users, often through input fields or reflected data. Modifying the "Referer" header, however, is a direct manipulation of an HTTP request header by the client, not an injection into the page's content or execution context. This action does not directly lead to the execution of arbitrary scripts in a victim's browser, which is the hallmark of an XSS attack.
- ✓
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Why this is correct
Modifying the "Referer" header is a direct test for Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) defenses. Many web applications implement CSRF protection by validating the "Referer" header to ensure that a request originates from the application's own domain. A penetration tester's action of altering this header directly attempts to bypass or evaluate the robustness of such "Referer"-based validation mechanisms, simulating an attacker's attempt to circumvent this common CSRF mitigation.
- ✗
SQL injection
Why it's wrong here
SQL injection targets vulnerabilities in an application's database queries by injecting malicious SQL code into input parameters or data fields. While an application might log or process header values, the act of simply modifying the "Referer" header itself does not constitute a SQL injection. The core of SQL injection lies in manipulating the backend database query logic, which is distinct from altering a standard HTTP request header for other purposes.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 870 original CEH practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.