PEN-200 Active Directory Attacks Practice Question
You have obtained a low-privileged domain user account and are performing internal enumeration. You identify a computer object in the domain where the 'ms-MCS-AdmPwd' attribute is readable by your user account. Which attack path does this vulnerability facilitate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Students often misidentify LAPS attribute names or confuse computer object permissions with standard user right assignments, missing the direct implications of readable administrative passwords.
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
✓
Extracting the cleartext local administrator password
The ms-MCS-AdmPwd attribute stores the cleartext Local Administrator Password for a computer managed by LAPS. By reading this attribute, an attacker can extract the password for the local administrator account of the target machine. This is a critical discovery because it allows immediate lateral movement from a low-privileged domain context to local administrative privileges on that specific host, potentially leading to further credential harvesting or domain escalation.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Kerberoasting the computer account password hash
Why it's wrong here
Kerberoasting targets service accounts with service principal names registered. The ms-MCS-AdmPwd attribute is specific to LAPS, which manages local administrator passwords for domain-joined machines. Kerberoasting requires requesting a service ticket for an account with an SPN, which is a fundamentally different mechanism than reading LAPS password attributes.
- ✗
Exploiting the GPO to modify the Domain Admins group
Why it's wrong here
Modifying the Domain Admins group requires permissions to write to Group Policy Objects or the group membership itself. Reading the ms-MCS-AdmPwd attribute only provides the current local administrator password for a specific host, not the permissions necessary to alter enterprise-wide security configurations or administrative group memberships.
- ✓
Extracting the cleartext local administrator password
Why this is correct
The LAPS solution stores the cleartext local administrator password in the ms-MCS-AdmPwd attribute of the computer object. If a domain user has read access to this attribute, they can retrieve the password, enabling them to authenticate as the local administrator on that specific computer, facilitating unauthorized access.
- ✗
Performing an AS-REP Roasting attack on the machine
Why it's wrong here
AS-REP Roasting targets user accounts where the 'Do not require Kerberos preauthentication' flag is set. This allows an attacker to request a TGT without providing the user's password. LAPS attribute access is unrelated to preauthentication flags and does not involve the Kerberos AS-REQ/AS-REP exchange process for ticket requests.
About these practice questions
One of 285 original PEN-200 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 OffSec exam blueprint
This PEN-200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free OffSec 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 PEN-200 exam.