ISC2 CC Network Security Practice Question
An attacker sends a forged ARP response to a switch, associating the attacker's MAC address with the IP address of the default gateway. The switch updates its ARP cache accordingly. This is an example of which attack?
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
✓
ARP spoofing
ARP spoofing (or ARP poisoning) involves sending fake ARP messages to associate the attacker's MAC with a legitimate IP, enabling man-in-the-middle attacks.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
MAC flooding
Why it's wrong here
MAC flooding overwhelms a switch's CAM table with bogus source MACs, forcing it to flood frames; here a single forged ARP reply poisons the gateway mapping, which is ARP cache poisoning. It is tempting because both target switch forwarding behaviour, and MAC flooding would be correct where the CAM table is deliberately exhausted.
- ✗
DNS spoofing
Why it's wrong here
DNS spoofing forges DNS responses to redirect name resolution to a malicious IP; this attack forges an ARP reply to poison the switch's ARP cache, which is ARP poisoning. It is tempting because both redirect traffic to the attacker, and DNS spoofing would be correct where the attacker corrupts DNS records or replies.
- ✗
IP spoofing
Why it's wrong here
IP spoofing forges the source IP address in packet headers; here the attacker forges an ARP reply binding their MAC to the gateway's IP, which is ARP cache poisoning. It is tempting because both attacks impersonate a trusted address, and IP spoofing would be correct where an attacker sends packets with a falsified source IP.
- ✓
ARP spoofing
Why this is correct
ARP spoofing sends forged ARP replies that map the attacker's MAC address to another host's IP, here the default gateway. The switch caches this false binding, redirecting traffic through the attacker. This satisfies the scenario's constraint of a forged ARP response poisoning the cache.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Incident Response and Management
Key term
MAC
MAC (Media Access Control) is a unique hardware identifier assigned to network interfaces for communication on a local network segment.
Key term
ARP poisoning
ARP poisoning is a network attack where an attacker sends fake Address Resolution Protocol messages to link their MAC address with a legitimate IP address, enabling them to intercept, modify, or stop data on a local network.
About these practice questions
This CC question is part of Courseiva's 989-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 by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.