CPENT Iot And OT Exploitation Practice Question
A security analyst is investigating an IoT incident where an attacker gained unauthorized access to an MQTT broker. The analyst wants to inspect the broker configuration file on a Debian-based Linux system running Eclipse Mosquitto to check if anonymous access was enabled. What is the default file path for the Mosquitto configuration file?
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/mosquitto/mosquitto.conf
Eclipse Mosquitto stores its primary configuration settings in '/etc/mosquitto/mosquitto.conf' on standard Linux installations.
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/mosquitto/mosquitto.conf
Why this is correct
The Mosquitto configuration file is located at '/etc/mosquitto/mosquitto.conf', where parameters like 'allow_anonymous' are defined.
- ✗
/var/lib/mqtt/config.ini
Why it's wrong here
This path does not correspond to standard Mosquitto installation conventions.
- ✗
/opt/broker/settings.xml
Why it's wrong here
Mosquitto does not utilize XML configuration formats in the /opt directory.
- ✗
/etc/init.d/mosquitto.cfg
Why it's wrong here
/etc/init.d/ contains service startup scripts, not the primary application configuration file.
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.