CPENT Network And Perimeter Exploitation Practice Question
An attacker has gained command execution on an internal machine and wants to bypass egress filtering that blocks all outbound TCP and UDP ports except port 53. Which tool can be used to tunnel arbitrary TCP traffic encapsulated inside DNS queries out of the network?
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
✓
Dnscat2
Dnscat2 or Iodine are prominent DNS tunneling tools used to route TCP traffic over DNS queries and responses, bypassing strict outbound port filters.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Socat
Why it's wrong here
Socat is a versatile relay tool but does not natively encapsulate TCP inside DNS queries.
- ✗
Metasploit Meterpreter reverse_tcp
Why it's wrong here
This payload requires a direct raw TCP connection back to the listener port.
- ✗
Netcat
Why it's wrong here
Netcat operates over raw TCP/UDP ports and cannot tunnel traffic over DNS protocol natively.
- ✓
Dnscat2
Why this is correct
Dnscat2 is designed to create an encrypted command-and-control channel over the DNS protocol.
Visual reference
About these practice questions
This CPENT question is part of Courseiva's 274-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.