Three Main Password Cracking Techniques
Which THREE of the following are password cracking techniques? (Select 3)
Quick Answer
The answer is dictionary attack, brute force attack, and rainbow table attack. These three are the primary password cracking techniques because each exploits a different vulnerability in how passwords are stored or chosen. A dictionary attack uses a precompiled list of common words or phrases, relying on users selecting weak passwords, while a brute force attack systematically tries every possible character combination, making it exhaustive but time-consuming. A rainbow table attack precomputes hash values for a vast set of passwords, allowing an attacker to reverse a stolen hash quickly without guessing. On the Certified Ethical Hacker CEH exam, this question tests your understanding of attack vectors against authentication systems; a common trap is confusing a rainbow table attack with a dictionary attack—remember that rainbow tables work offline against hashes, not live login prompts. For a memory tip, think of the three as “guess, grind, and precompute”: dictionary guesses common words, brute force grinds through all possibilities, and rainbow tables precompute hash lookups.
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse password cracking techniques with broader attack categories like social engineering (phishing) or data hiding (steganography), which are distinct concepts in the CEH exam's enumeration and system hacking domain.
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
✓
Dictionary attack
A dictionary attack is a password cracking technique where an attacker uses a precompiled list of likely passwords (a dictionary file) to attempt authentication against a target system. It relies on the fact that many users choose common words or phrases as passwords, making it effective against weak passwords but ineffective against strong, random ones.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Dictionary attack
Why this is correct
Uses a wordlist to guess passwords.
- ✓
Brute-force attack
Why this is correct
Tries all possible combinations.
- ✗
Phishing
Why it's wrong here
Phishing is social engineering to obtain credentials.
- ✗
Steganography
Why it's wrong here
Steganography hides data, not cracks passwords.
- ✓
Rainbow table attack
Why this is correct
Uses precomputed hash chains.
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 →
Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on CEH
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Which TWO of the following are password cracking techniques? (Select 2)
easy- A.SQL injection
- ✓ B.Rainbow table attack
- C.Phishing
- D.ARP spoofing
- ✓ E.Dictionary attack
Why B: A rainbow table attack is a password cracking technique that uses precomputed hash chains to reverse cryptographic hash functions. Instead of computing hashes on the fly, the attacker matches captured password hashes against a precomputed table of hash values, drastically reducing the time needed to recover plaintext passwords. This is a classic offline attack against hashed passwords, especially effective when salts are not used. A dictionary attack is another password cracking technique where an attacker attempts to guess a password by trying every word in a pre-compiled list (a dictionary). This can be used against live login forms or, more commonly, against captured password hashes by hashing each dictionary word and comparing it to the target hash. It's effective against weak passwords that are common words or phrases.
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.