CEH Practice Question: Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks
Which TWO of the following are examples of application layer DDoS attacks? (Select two.)
⚠ 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 may confuse SYN flood (a TCP-based Layer 4 attack) with an application layer attack because it targets web servers, but it operates at a lower layer of the OSI model.
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 HTTP servers by opening multiple connections and sending partial HTTP requests, keeping them open as long as possible. It exploits the server's connection handling by sending incomplete headers, preventing the server from timing out the connection and exhausting its connection pool. This attack operates at Layer 7 and does not require high bandwidth, making it effective against web servers.
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
Correct. Slowloris keeps many connections open to exhaust server resources.
- ✗
UDP flood
Why it's wrong here
UDP flood is a volumetric/network layer attack.
- ✗
Smurf attack
Why it's wrong here
Smurf is a network layer ICMP attack.
- ✓
HTTP flood
Why this is correct
Correct. HTTP flood sends many HTTP requests to overwhelm a web server.
- ✗
SYN flood
Why it's wrong here
SYN flood is a protocol layer attack, not application layer.
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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.