CPENT Practice Question: Privilege Escalation Lateral Movement And Post Exploitation
An operator has successfully established a Meterpreter session on a Windows Server 2019 domain member. To maintain access across system reboots without creating a new local user account, the operator decides to implement a WMI persistence mechanism. Which command sequence correctly establishes a WMI event subscription that executes a payload whenever the system boots?
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
✓
Create a __EventFilter monitoring Win32_OperatingSystem startup, a CommandLineEventConsumer executing the payload, and a __FilterToConsumerBinding object
WMI persistence involves creating an __EventFilter to trigger on system startup, an __EventConsumer (specifically CommandLineEventConsumer) to execute the payload, and a __FilterToConsumerBinding to link the two objects together.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Inject a DLL into winlogon.exe and configure a Group Policy Object to execute the payload upon user logon
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect because this describes DLL injection and GPO deployment rather than a native WMI event subscription.
- ✓
Create a __EventFilter monitoring Win32_OperatingSystem startup, a CommandLineEventConsumer executing the payload, and a __FilterToConsumerBinding object
Why this is correct
Correct because this is the exact trio of WMI classes required to establish permanent event-driven persistence.
- ✗
Configure a new registry run key using reg add pointing to a VBScript payload in the Startup folder
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect because registry run keys are not WMI event subscriptions, though they are a valid persistence mechanism.
- ✗
Use PowerShell to create an EventFilter looking for Win32_NTLogEvent and a ScriptFileEventConsumer pointing to a scheduled task
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect because Win32_NTLogEvent does not track system startup reliably for persistence binding compared to __InstanceModificationEvent on Win32_OperatingSystem.
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.