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 of the following Google dorks would an attacker MOST likely use to find login pages of web applications that are publicly accessible?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
intitle:login
This dork returns pages where the title contains 'login', often used to find login portals.
inurl:robots.txt
Why wrong: This finds robots.txt files, not login pages.
filetype:pdf
Why wrong: This searches for PDF files, not login pages.
cache:example.com
Why wrong: This shows cached version of a page, not a search for 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
intitle:login
The Google dork 'intitle:login' is most effective for finding login pages because it searches for the word 'login' in the HTML title tag of web pages. Attackers use this to quickly identify publicly accessible authentication portals, which are common entry points for brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks. This dork directly targets the page title, a standard HTML element that often contains the word 'login' on authentication pages.
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.
intitle:login
Why this is correct
This dork returns pages where the title contains 'login', often used to find login portals.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
inurl:robots.txt
Why it's wrong here
This finds robots.txt files, not login pages.
filetype:pdf
Why it's wrong here
This searches for PDF files, not login pages.
cache:example.com
Why it's wrong here
This shows cached version of a page, not a search for login pages.
Common exam traps
EC-Council often tests the distinction between operators that find specific page content (like 'intitle:') versus those that find file types or cached data, leading candidates to confuse 'inurl:robots.txt' (which finds a specific file) with finding login pages.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
This shows cached version of a page, not a search for login pages.
Detailed technical explanation
Google dorks leverage advanced search operators that interact with Google's index. The 'intitle:' operator restricts results to pages where the search term appears in the <title> tag, which is a standard HTML element defined in the HTML specification. Attackers often combine 'intitle:login' with other operators like 'inurl:admin' to narrow results, and they may use tools like 'GoogDork' or 'dorkbot' to automate queries against Google's search API, though this violates Google's ToS.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the CEH exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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: intitle:login — The Google dork 'intitle:login' is most effective for finding login pages because it searches for the word 'login' in the HTML title tag of web pages. Attackers use this to quickly identify publicly accessible authentication portals, which are common entry points for brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks. This dork directly targets the page title, a standard HTML element that often contains the word 'login' on authentication pages.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 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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