CEH Footprinting, Reconnaissance and Scanning Practice Question
While performing reconnaissance, a tester uses a Google dork to find login pages exposed on the internet. Which of the following is an example of a Google dork that could be used for this purpose?
⚠ Common exam trap
EC-Council often tests the distinction between operators that search URL content ('inurl:') versus page content ('intitle:') or file types ('filetype:'), leading candidates to confuse 'filetype:pdf' as a valid dork for finding login pages when it actually targets document files.
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
✓
inurl:login.php
The Google dork 'inurl:login.php' instructs Google to return only URLs that contain the string 'login.php' in the URL path. This is a classic reconnaissance technique to discover exposed login pages, as many web applications use 'login.php' as the default authentication endpoint. The 'inurl:' operator filters search results based on the literal text in the URL, making it ideal for footprinting specific web resources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
inurl:login.php
Why this is correct
This dork finds URLs containing 'login.php'.
- ✗
site:example.com -www
Why it's wrong here
This excludes subdomains containing 'www', not a dork for login pages.
- ✗
filetype:pdf
Why it's wrong here
This finds PDF files, not specifically login pages.
- ✗
link:example.com
Why it's wrong here
This finds pages linking to example.com, not login pages.
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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.