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SSCP Practice Question: Based on the exhibit, which type of attack is…
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. [user@server ~]$ sudo cat /var/log/auth.log | grep 'Failed password' | tail -5 Mar 10 14:23:01 server sshd[1234]: Failed password for root from 10.0.0.5 port 22 ssh2 Mar 10 14:23:05 server sshd[1234]: Failed password for root from 10.0.0.5 port 22 ssh2 Mar 10 14:23:09 server sshd[1234]: Failed password for root from 10.0.0.5 port 22 ssh2 Mar 10 14:23:13 server sshd[1234]: Failed password for root from 10.0.0.5 port 22 ssh2 Mar 10 14:23:17 server sshd[1234]: Failed password for root from 10.0.0.5 port 22 ssh2
Based on the exhibit, which type of attack is most likely occurring?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse a brute force attack with a denial of service attack because both can generate high volumes of traffic, but the key differentiator is the repeated authentication failure pattern versus resource exhaustion.
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
✓
Brute force attack
A brute force attack is most likely occurring because the exhibit shows repeated login attempts with different passwords for the same username, which is the hallmark of an automated password guessing attack. The rapid succession of failed authentication events indicates a systematic trial of credentials, not a single intercepted session or resource exhaustion.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Brute force attack
Why this is correct
Repeated failed password attempts from same IP is classic brute force.
- ✗
Man-in-the-middle attack
Why it's wrong here
MITM would not generate auth.log entries like this.
- ✗
Denial of service attack
Why it's wrong here
DoS would show resource exhaustion, not repeated login attempts.
- ✗
Social engineering attack
Why it's wrong here
Social engineering is not directly observable in logs.
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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.