CPENT Practice Question: Privilege Escalation Lateral Movement And Post Exploitation
A penetration tester is performing post-exploitation reconnaissance on a Linux machine. Which THREE files or directories should the tester examine to identify potential sensitive configuration data, credentials, or cron jobs? Choose three.
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
✓
/etc/passwd
/etc/passwd, /etc/crontab, and ~/.ssh/ are key locations for user accounts, scheduled tasks, and SSH keys respectively.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
/etc/passwd
Why this is correct
/etc/passwd lists local user accounts and system shells.
- ✗
/proc/version
Why it's wrong here
/proc/version details the Linux kernel release version.
- ✓
~/.ssh/
Why this is correct
The .ssh directory contains private keys and known hosts for SSH authentication.
- ✓
/etc/crontab
Why this is correct
/etc/crontab defines system-wide scheduled cron jobs.
- ✗
/var/log/syslog
Why it's wrong here
/var/log/syslog contains system log events, not typically static sensitive configurations.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official EC-Council exam blueprint
This CPENT 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 CPENT exam.