GPEN Advanced Password Attacks Practice Question
Which attack targets service accounts by requesting a service ticket (TGS) from the domain controller and cracking the ticket offline?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse Kerberoasting with AS-REP Roasting. They fail to realize Kerberoasting specifically targets service tickets (TGS) by requesting them from the KDC, whereas AS-REP Roasting targets account pre-authentication flags.
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
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Kerberoasting
Kerberoasting exploits the nature of Kerberos service tickets, which are encrypted using the hash of the target service account's password. Because the ticket is encrypted with the service account's hash, an attacker who can request a ticket can attempt to brute-force or dictionary-attack that ticket offline. This is a highly stealthy method because no malicious traffic is sent to the target service itself.
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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Pass-the-Ticket
Why it's wrong here
Pass-the-Ticket is an attack where an attacker steals a valid Kerberos TGT or TGS and uses it to authenticate to resources. It does not involve cracking anything offline; rather, it focuses on the active reuse of existing authentication tokens to gain unauthorized access to network resources.
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AS-REP Roasting
Why it's wrong here
AS-REP Roasting targets accounts that do not require Kerberos pre-authentication. The attacker requests an AS-REP response from the KDC, which contains a piece of data encrypted with the user's password hash. This can be cracked offline, but it is distinct from Kerberoasting, which targets service accounts.
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Kerberoasting
Why this is correct
Kerberoasting is specifically defined as the process of requesting a service ticket for a service account and cracking the resulting TGS-REP hash offline. Since the ticket is encrypted with the service account's password hash, offline cracking reveals the service account password, often leading to significant privilege escalation.
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Golden Ticket Attack
Why it's wrong here
A Golden Ticket attack involves compromising the KRBTGT account to forge TGTs. This is a much more powerful and persistent attack than Kerberoasting, as it allows the attacker to impersonate any user in the domain and create tickets that do not expire for long periods.
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 September 2026 · checked against the official GIAC exam blueprint
This GPEN practice question is part of Courseiva's free GIAC 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 GPEN exam.