CEH Network and Web Application Attacks Practice Question
This CEH practice question tests your understanding of network and web application attacks. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
GET /search?q=<script>alert('XSS')</script> HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html
<html><body>You searched for: <script>alert('XSS')</script></body></html>
Refer to the exhibit. A security analyst captured the HTTP request and response shown. What type of vulnerability is present?
Refer to the exhibit.
GET /search?q=<script>alert('XSS')</script> HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html
<html><body>You searched for: <script>alert('XSS')</script></body></html>
A
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Why wrong: No cross-origin request is shown.
B
SQL Injection
Why wrong: No database query is visible.
C
Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
The input is reflected in the response and executed as script.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
The HTTP response contains the search query parameter directly reflected in the HTML body without proper sanitization or encoding. Specifically, the request includes `?search=<script>alert('XSS')</script>` and the response echoes this payload verbatim in the page content, allowing the browser to execute the injected JavaScript. This is the classic signature of a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability, where the malicious script is immediately reflected off the web server and executed in the user's browser.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Why it's wrong here
No cross-origin request is shown.
✗
SQL Injection
Why it's wrong here
No database query is visible.
✓
Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Why this is correct
The input is reflected in the response and executed as script.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Directory Traversal
Why it's wrong here
No file path manipulation is present.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
EC-Council often tests the distinction between reflected XSS and stored XSS, but the trap here is confusing reflected XSS with CSRF because both involve crafted URLs, but CSRF does not execute JavaScript in the response—it forges a state-changing request using the victim's session.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
No cross-origin request is shown.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Reflected XSS occurs when user input is immediately included in the server's response without proper output encoding, typically via URL parameters or form submissions. Under the hood, the browser trusts the origin server, so any script injected into the response runs in the same origin context, allowing access to cookies, session tokens, and DOM manipulation. In real-world scenarios, attackers often craft a malicious link (e.g., via email or phishing) that includes the XSS payload; when the victim clicks it, the script executes and exfiltrates sensitive data to an attacker-controlled server.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CEH question in full detail.
Network and Web Application Attacks — This question tests Network and Web Application Attacks — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) — The HTTP response contains the search query parameter directly reflected in the HTML body without proper sanitization or encoding. Specifically, the request includes `?search=<script>alert('XSS')</script>` and the response echoes this payload verbatim in the page content, allowing the browser to execute the injected JavaScript. This is the classic signature of a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability, where the malicious script is immediately reflected off the web server and executed in the user's browser.
What should I do if I get this CEH question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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