Quick Answer
The answer is a brute force attack. This technique is correct because it systematically enumerates every possible combination of characters from a defined set—such as lowercase letters, uppercase letters, digits, and special symbols—until the correct password is found, guaranteeing eventual success at the cost of extreme computational expense and time, especially against long or complex passwords. On the Certified Ethical Hacker CEH exam, this concept tests your understanding of the most exhaustive form of password cracking, often contrasted with dictionary or hybrid attacks; a common trap is confusing brute force with a dictionary attack, which relies on precomputed wordlists rather than trying all combinations. Remember that brute force is the “guaranteed but slow” method—if you see a question about trying every character permutation, the answer is always brute force. A helpful memory tip: think of it as “breaking the lock by trying every key in existence.”
This CEH practice question tests your understanding of enumeration and system hacking. 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 password cracking technique involves trying every possible combination of characters until the correct password is found?
Rainbow table attack
Why wrong: Rainbow tables use precomputed hashes, not exhaustive guessing.
Dictionary attack
Why wrong: Dictionary attack uses a wordlist, not all combinations.
Brute force attack
Correct. Brute force tries all possible combinations.
Hybrid attack
Why wrong: Hybrid attack combines dictionary and brute force modifications.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Brute force attack
A brute force attack systematically tries every possible combination of characters from a defined character set (e.g., lowercase, uppercase, digits, special symbols) until the correct password is found. This method guarantees eventual success but is computationally expensive and time-consuming, especially for long or complex passwords. It is the most exhaustive form of password cracking, as it does not rely on any precomputed data or wordlists.
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.
Rainbow table attack
Why it's wrong here
Rainbow tables use precomputed hashes, not exhaustive guessing.
Dictionary attack
Why it's wrong here
Dictionary attack uses a wordlist, not all combinations.
Brute force attack
Why this is correct
Correct. Brute force tries all possible combinations.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Hybrid attack
Why it's wrong here
Hybrid attack combines dictionary and brute force modifications.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'brute force' with 'dictionary attack' because both involve guessing passwords, but the key distinction is that brute force exhaustively tries all combinations while dictionary attacks rely on a precompiled list of likely passwords.
Detailed technical explanation
In a brute force attack, the time required grows exponentially with password length; for an 8-character password using 95 printable ASCII characters, there are 95^8 ≈ 6.6 quadrillion possibilities. Tools like John the Ripper or Hashcat can parallelize this across GPUs, but even then, cracking a 12-character random password may take centuries. Real-world scenarios often use brute force as a last resort after dictionary and hybrid attacks fail, or for short passwords (e.g., 4-6 characters) where the keyspace is manageable.
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
Enumeration and System Hacking — This question tests Enumeration and System Hacking — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Brute force attack — A brute force attack systematically tries every possible combination of characters from a defined character set (e.g., lowercase, uppercase, digits, special symbols) until the correct password is found. This method guarantees eventual success but is computationally expensive and time-consuming, especially for long or complex passwords. It is the most exhaustive form of password cracking, as it does not rely on any precomputed data or wordlists.
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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