CPENT Iot And OT Exploitation Practice Question
A penetration tester is analyzing a smart medical pump and needs to check for open ports and running services on the embedded operating system. Using Nmap, the tester wants to perform a TCP SYN scan against the device while avoiding noisy service version detection to remain stealthy. Which Nmap flag specifies a SYN stealth scan?
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
✓
-sS
The '-sS' flag instructs Nmap to perform a TCP SYN scan, which is the default and most popular stealth scan because it never completes the full 3-way handshake.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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-sT
Why it's wrong here
The '-sT' option performs a full TCP connect scan, which completes the three-way handshake and is easily logged by target operating systems.
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-sP
Why it's wrong here
The '-sP' option (or '-sn') performs a ping scan to determine host availability without port scanning.
- ✓
-sS
Why this is correct
The '-sS' option triggers a TCP SYN scan, sending SYN packets and analyzing responses without establishing full TCP connections.
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-sU
Why it's wrong here
The '-sU' flag is used for UDP port scanning, not TCP SYN.
Visual reference
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CPENT question from scratch — 274 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or 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.