CPENT Active Directory Attacks Practice Question
A pentester wants to execute a Shadow Credentials attack (Key Credential Link abuse) against a high-value user account in Active Directory. What permission on the target user object is required to successfully perform this attack?
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
✓
WriteProperty, GenericAll, or GenericWrite over the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute / target object
Shadow credentials involve writing to the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute of an Active Directory object. Therefore, the attacker must have WriteProperty, GenericAll, or GenericWrite privileges over the target object.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ReadLAPSPassword extended right
Why it's wrong here
ReadLAPSPassword only permits reading LAPS passwords from computer objects.
- ✓
WriteProperty, GenericAll, or GenericWrite over the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute / target object
Why this is correct
Writing to msDS-KeyCredentialLink requires write permissions over the target object to add a rogue public key.
- ✗
DS-Replication-Get-Changes-All domain right
Why it's wrong here
DCSync rights are needed for replication, not attribute manipulation on individual user objects.
- ✗
SeEnableDelegationPrivilege on the domain controller
Why it's wrong here
SeEnableDelegationPrivilege is a user rights assignment on local machines, not an AD object right.
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.