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SSCP Session Hijacking Practice Question
A company's VPN logs show that a user's account authenticated from two different geographic locations within a span of 10 minutes. The distances between locations make physical travel impossible. The security team investigates and finds that the user's password is complex and not shared. What is the MOST likely explanation?
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
✓
The user's session token was stolen and used by an attacker.
The session token could have been stolen and reused from a different location, allowing an attacker to authenticate without the password. Option A is incorrect; a configuration error would affect multiple users. Option C is incorrect; multiple people using the account would imply password sharing, which is denied. Option D is incorrect; using a VPN service would show the same VPN IP, not two different geographic locations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The VPN server has a configuration error causing incorrect location logging.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: A VPN configuration error would likely cause systematic location logging issues across multiple users, not a single incident of impossible travel.
- ✓
The user's session token was stolen and used by an attacker.
Why this is correct
Correct: The stolen session token allows an attacker to reuse the authenticated session from a different location without needing the password, explaining the impossible travel.
- ✗
The user's account is being used by multiple people with permission.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Multiple people using the account implies password sharing, which is contradicted by the statement that the password is not shared. Session token theft is more likely.
- ✗
The user is using a VPN service to mask their true location.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: Using a VPN service would mask the true location by showing the VPN server's IP, but the user would not appear from two different locations; the logs would show a single VPN IP.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.