CPENT Practice Question: Privilege Escalation Lateral Movement And Post Exploitation
During a lateral movement assessment in an Active Directory environment, a penetration tester wants to verify if SMB signing is disabled on internal subnet hosts to assess vulnerability to NTLM relay attacks. Which TWO tools or methods can be used to identify systems with SMB signing disabled? Choose two.
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
✓
nmap --script smb2-security-mode -p 445 <target_ip>
CrackMapExec (or NetExec) and nmap with the smb2-security-mode script are standard tools used to check SMB signing status across targets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
tracert <target_ip>
Why it's wrong here
Tracert maps network packet routing hops.
- ✗
ping -t <target_ip>
Why it's wrong here
Ping is an ICMP connectivity tool.
- ✓
nmap --script smb2-security-mode -p 445 <target_ip>
Why this is correct
The nmap smb2-security-mode script queries whether SMB signing is required or disabled.
- ✗
nslookup -type=mx <domain>
Why it's wrong here
nslookup performs DNS mail exchange queries.
- ✓
CrackMapExec (or NetExec) smb <subnet>
Why this is correct
CrackMapExec/NetExec checks SMB signing status across a range of IP addresses automatically.
Visual reference
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.