212-89 Web Application Incidents Practice Question
A web application's logs indicate an attacker successfully performed an XML External Entity (XXE) injection. What was likely the source of this vulnerability?
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
✓
Insecure configuration of the XML parser
XXE occurs when an XML parser is configured to resolve external entities, allowing access to local files.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Lack of CSRF tokens in POST requests
Why it's wrong here
CSRF is an authentication-related vulnerability, not an injection attack.
- ✗
SQL injection in a login form
Why it's wrong here
XXE is a distinct class of vulnerability, not SQL injection.
- ✓
Insecure configuration of the XML parser
Why this is correct
XXE is caused by parsers that allow the processing of external entities, often enabled by default in older configurations.
- ✗
Missing input sanitization in a search field
Why it's wrong here
While input sanitization is important, it is not the root cause of XXE.
Visual reference
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 212-89 question from scratch — 206 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 212-89 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 212-89 exam.