CEH Practice Question: Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks
This CEH practice question tests your understanding of malware, social engineering and network 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.
Which THREE of the following are techniques used in session hijacking?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
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Man-in-the-middle (MITM) interception
Man-in-the-middle (MITM) interception is a core session hijacking technique where the attacker positions themselves between the client and server to intercept and manipulate traffic. By capturing session tokens or credentials in transit, the attacker can impersonate the legitimate user without needing to predict sequence numbers or steal cookies directly.
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.
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DNS cache poisoning
Why it's wrong here
DNS cache poising redirects traffic, but is not a direct session hijacking technique.
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Man-in-the-middle (MITM) interception
Why this is correct
MITM attacks allow the attacker to intercept and manipulate session data.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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MAC flooding
Why it's wrong here
MAC flooding is for sniffing traffic, not directly hijacking sessions.
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Cookie theft and replay
Why this is correct
Stealing session cookies allows an attacker to impersonate a user.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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TCP sequence number prediction
Why this is correct
Predicting TCP sequence numbers allows an attacker to inject packets into an existing session.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
EC-Council often tests the distinction between attacks that enable session hijacking (like MITM) versus attacks that are merely precursors or different categories (like DNS poisoning or MAC flooding), so candidates mistakenly select options that facilitate but do not directly perform session hijacking.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Session hijacking exploits the stateless nature of HTTP and TCP; in TCP session hijacking, the attacker must correctly guess or predict the sequence numbers (ISN) to inject packets, which is why TCP sequence number prediction is a classic technique. Cookie theft and replay leverages stolen session cookies (e.g., via XSS or network sniffing) to re-authenticate as the victim, bypassing the need for real-time MITM interception. Real-world scenarios include using tools like Wireshark to capture cookies over unencrypted HTTP or using Ettercap for ARP spoofing to enable MITM.
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.
Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks — This question tests Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Man-in-the-middle (MITM) interception — Man-in-the-middle (MITM) interception is a core session hijacking technique where the attacker positions themselves between the client and server to intercept and manipulate traffic. By capturing session tokens or credentials in transit, the attacker can impersonate the legitimate user without needing to predict sequence numbers or steal cookies directly.
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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