CEH Practice Question: Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks
Which THREE of the following are examples of application-layer DDoS attacks? (Select 3)
⚠ Common exam trap
The CEH exam often tests the distinction between Layer 4 (transport) and Layer 7 (application) attacks, and the trap here is that candidates confuse SYN flood or UDP flood as application-layer because they involve 'flooding,' but they operate at lower OSI layers.
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
✓
Slowloris
Slowloris is an application-layer DDoS attack that targets web servers by opening multiple HTTP connections and keeping them alive with partial requests, sending headers slowly to exhaust the server's connection pool. It exploits the HTTP protocol's design where servers wait for complete requests before releasing resources, making it a classic Layer 7 attack.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Slowloris
Why this is correct
Slowloris holds connections open to exhaust server resources.
- ✓
HTTP flood
Why this is correct
HTTP flood sends many HTTP requests to overwhelm the server.
- ✗
SYN flood
Why it's wrong here
SYN flood is a protocol attack at layer 4.
- ✓
DNS amplification
Why this is correct
Can be considered application-layer as it uses DNS protocol.
- ✗
UDP flood
Why it's wrong here
UDP flood is a volumetric attack at layer 4.
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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.