This CEH practice question tests your understanding of footprinting, reconnaissance and scanning. 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.
Which Google dork would a penetration tester use to find login pages that are indexed by Google?
filetype:xls username password
Why wrong: This searches for Excel files containing credentials, not login pages.
intitle:"index of"
Why wrong: This finds directory listings, not login pages.
inurl:login
This searches for pages with 'login' in the URL, typically login forms.
site:example.com intext:password
Why wrong: This searches for pages containing the word 'password', not specifically login pages.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
inurl:login
Option C is correct because the Google dork 'inurl:login' specifically searches for URLs containing the word 'login', which commonly appear in login page paths (e.g., /login.php, /login.aspx). This allows a penetration tester to quickly identify indexed login portals for further reconnaissance, such as testing for default credentials or brute-force attacks.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
filetype:xls username password
Why it's wrong here
This searches for Excel files containing credentials, not login pages.
intitle:"index of"
Why it's wrong here
This finds directory listings, not login pages.
inurl:login
Why this is correct
This searches for pages with 'login' in the URL, typically login forms.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
site:example.com intext:password
Why it's wrong here
This searches for pages containing the word 'password', not specifically login pages.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'inurl:login' with 'intitle:login' or 'intext:login', but 'inurl:' is the precise operator for finding login pages by their URL structure, while 'intitle:' and 'intext:' target page titles and body content, respectively, which are less reliable for this specific purpose.
Detailed technical explanation
Google dorks leverage advanced search operators that interact with Google's index via HTTP GET parameters. The 'inurl:' operator filters results based on the URL path, and when combined with 'login', it matches patterns like /login, /login.php, or /admin/login. This technique is part of OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) and is often used in the reconnaissance phase to discover exposed administrative interfaces without scanning the target directly.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Footprinting, Reconnaissance and Scanning — This question tests Footprinting, Reconnaissance and Scanning — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: inurl:login — Option C is correct because the Google dork 'inurl:login' specifically searches for URLs containing the word 'login', which commonly appear in login page paths (e.g., /login.php, /login.aspx). This allows a penetration tester to quickly identify indexed login portals for further reconnaissance, such as testing for default credentials or brute-force attacks.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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.
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