hardMultiple Choice
SSCP Practice Question: During a security incident, the IR team discovers…
During a security incident, the IR team discovers that an attacker used a valid user account to access sensitive data. The account had multifactor authentication (MFA) enabled. Which attack technique most likely bypassed the MFA?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between technical bypasses (e.g., token theft, MITM) and social/behavioral bypasses (e.g., MFA fatigue), leading candidates to overcomplicate the attack when the simplest explanation—user error under pressure—is correct.
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
✓
MFA fatigue attack
MFA fatigue attacks exploit user behavior by bombarding the victim with repeated push notifications until they inadvertently approve an authentication request. Since the attacker already has the valid credentials, they trigger the MFA prompt repeatedly, and the user eventually accepts, granting the attacker access without needing to compromise the MFA mechanism 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.
- ✗
Session hijacking
Why it's wrong here
Session hijacking steals an already-authenticated session token after MFA succeeds, so the MFA prompt itself is never challenged. It is tempting because it defeats MFA without cracking credentials, but it requires the victim to have already authenticated, whereas the stem describes MFA being bypassed during the login itself.
- ✓
MFA fatigue attack
Why this is correct
MFA fatigue floods a victim with repeated push notifications until they approve one, so the attacker never breaks the factor itself. Because the account used valid credentials and MFA was enabled, this technique explains the compromise without any cryptographic bypass.
- ✗
Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack
Why it's wrong here
A MITM attack intercepts traffic between client and server, but MFA challenges such as FIDO2 or push notifications are bound to the origin and cannot be relayed this way. It is tempting because MITM proxies real-time OTP entry, yet that only defeats SMS or voice codes, not the MFA in the stem.
- ✗
Token theft from the endpoint
Why it's wrong here
Token theft steals an already-authenticated session token, so the attacker never performs MFA; the authentication is replayed rather than bypassed. It is tempting because it defeats MFA in practice, but the technique exploits session state, not the MFA challenge itself, so it does not 'bypass' MFA.
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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.