CPENT Active Directory Attacks Practice Question
A pentester successfully compromises a machine and obtains a valid Kerberos Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) file (.ccache). To use this ticket for lateral movement on Linux using Impacket, which environment variable must be exported?
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
✓
KRB5CCNAME
Impacket tools rely on the KRB5CCNAME environment variable to locate and parse the Kerberos credential cache file when performing operations with domain credentials via Kerberos.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
KRB_TICKET_PATH
Why it's wrong here
KRB_TICKET_PATH is not a standard environment variable used by Kerberos client libraries or Impacket.
- ✗
KERBEROS_CACHE
Why it's wrong here
KERBEROS_CACHE is not recognized by standard Kerberos authentication stacks.
- ✓
KRB5CCNAME
Why this is correct
Setting KRB5CCNAME to the path of the .ccache file instructs Impacket to use the injected Kerberos ticket.
- ✗
AD_TICKET_FILE
Why it's wrong here
AD_TICKET_FILE is a non-existent variable.
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.