Cisco 300-215 Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

Cisco 300-215 Online Questions & Answers

• Question 91:

  Refer to the exhibit.

  

  Interviews Kit Kat | 28 January 2021 An engineer received a ticket to analyze a recent breach on a company blog. Every time users visit the blog, they are greeted with a message box. The blog allows users to register, log in, create, and provide comments on various topics. Due

  to the legacy build of the application, it stores user information in the outdated MySQL database. What is the recommended action that an engineer should take?

  A. Validate input on arrival as strictly as possible.
  B. Implement TLS 1.3 for external communications.
  C. Match the web server software for the front-end and back-end servers.
  D. Upgrade the MySQL database.
  A. Validate input on arrival as strictly as possible.

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  Explanation Explanation/Reference:The alert box in the screenshot ("HACKED BY 1337") is a classic sign of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) . This occurs when unvalidated input is executed as code in a browser. To prevent this: The Cisco CyberOps Associate guide recommends strict input validation as the primary defense against XSS and similar web-based injection attacks.

• Question 92:

  Refer to the exhibit.

  

  A security analyst notices that a web application running on NGINX is generating an unusual number of log messages. The application is operational and reachable. What is the cause of this activity?

  A. botnet infection
  B. directory fuzzing
  C. DDoS attack
  D. SQL injection
  B. directory fuzzing

• Question 93:

  During a routine inspection of system logs, a security analyst notices an entry where Microsoft Word initiated a PowerShell command with encoded arguments. Given that the user's role does not involve scripting or advanced document processing, which action should the analyst take to analyze this output for potential indicators of compromise?

  A. Monitor the Microsoft Word startup times to ensure they align with business hours.
  B. Confirm that the Microsoft Word license is valid and the application is updated to the latest version.
  C. Validate the frequency of PowerShell usage across all hosts to establish a baseline.
  D. Review the encoded PowerShell arguments to decode and determine the intent of the script.
  D. Review the encoded PowerShell arguments to decode and determine the intent of the script.

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  Explanation Explanation/Reference:According to theCyberOps Technologies (CBRFIR) 300-215 study guidecurriculum, when analyzing suspicious behavior--especially when scripts or shell commands are executed from applications like Word (which is uncommon)--the encoded PowerShell payload must be decoded to determine if malicious intent is present. Deobfuscation is a critical step in identifying command-and-control behavior, persistence, or malware execution paths.

• Question 94:

  A malware outbreak revealed that a firewall was misconfigured, allowing external access to the SharePoint server. What should the security team do next?

  A. Scan for and fix vulnerabilities on the firewall and server
  B. Harden the SharePoint server
  C. Disable external IP communications on all firewalls
  D. Review and update all firewall rules and the network security policy
  D. Review and update all firewall rules and the network security policy

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  The incident stems from a policy-level issue rather than a technical vulnerability. According to incident response best practices, the priority should be to review and update firewall rules and ensure that the network security policy aligns with the principle of least privilege and correct access segmentation.

• Question 95:

  A security team detected an above-average amount of inbound tcp/135 connection attempts from unidentified senders. The security team is responding based on their incident response playbook. Which two elements are part of the eradication phase for this incident? (Choose two.)

  A. anti-malware software
  B. data and workload isolation
  C. centralized user management
  D. intrusion prevention system
  E. enterprise block listing solution
  C. centralized user management
  D. intrusion prevention system

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  Explanation Explanation/Reference:The eradication phase in incident response involves eliminating the root cause of the incident and strengthening defenses to prevent reoccurrence. In this case: Intrusion Prevention System (D): Adding new rules to the IPS to detect and block malicious activity on TCP/135 is a direct eradication step to remove the threat's entry point and prevent future attacks. Centralized User Management (C): Hardening user accounts, removing unnecessary permissions, and applying tighter authentication/authorization measures helps eliminate the possibility that threat actors could exploit weak or mismanaged accounts to continue accessing the system. Although anti-malware software (A) and enterprise block listing (E) are valuable, the most direct eradication steps here specifically involve managing network access (via IPS) and strengthening user controls (via centralized user management), especially when TCP/135 (MSRPC endpoint mapper) can be used to enumerate services and potentially access vulnerable endpoints remotely. This aligns with best practices outlined in incident response frameworks (such as the NIST SP 800-61 and referenced resources), which emphasize closing the exploited entry points (in this case, TCP/135) and removing any lingering access points through user management and network control enhancements. CyberOps Technologies (CBRFIR) 300-215 study guide, Chapter: Understanding the Incident Response Process, Eradication Phase, page 105-106. External Reference: "The Core Phases of Incident Response ?Remediation," Cipher blog [1]. External Reference: "Service Overview and Network Port Requirements," Microsoft documentation [2].

• Question 96:

  Refer to the exhibit.

  

  An alert came with a potentially suspicious activity from a machine in HR department. Which two IOCs should the security analyst flag? (Choose two.)

  A. powershell.exe used on HR machine
  B. cmd.exe executing from \Device\HarddiskVolume3\
  C. WScript.exe initiated by powershell.exe
  D. cmd.exe starting powershell.exe with Base64 conversion
  E. WScript.exe acting as a parent of cmd.exe
  D. cmd.exe starting powershell.exe with Base64 conversion
  E. WScript.exe acting as a parent of cmd.exe

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  Explanation Explanation/Reference:The exhibit shows a series of process executions that form a suspicious chain involving scripting engines and obfuscated commands: One critical indicator iscmd.exe executing PowerShell with obfuscated (Base64-encoded) arguments . The use of Base64 is a known method used by attackers to mask malicious commands. This aligns with attack techniques defined under MITRE ATTandCK T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) and T1086 (PowerShell abuse). Therefore, option D is valid. Another important IOC is WScript.exe acting as a parent of cmd.exe , which is abnormal in typical business environments. This indicates potential misuse of Windows Script Host (WSH) to launch commands, often seen in phishing or malware dropper scenarios. Thus, option E is also valid. Options A and B by themselves are not definitive IOCs--PowerShell and cmd.exe are legitimate administrative tools and frequently used in Windows environments. Option C is not supported by the exhibit--the reverse (powershell.exe initiated by WScript.exe) is what's seen, not the other way around. These patterns align with theCyberOps Technologies (CBRFIR) 300-215 study guide, which specifies that chaining of interpreters (e.g., WScript # cmd # PowerShell) with encoded commands is a key indicator of compromise during forensic analysis. CyberOps Technologies (CBRFIR) 300-215 study guide, Chapter on Identifying Malicious

• Question 97:

  Which tool conducts memory analysis?

  A. MemDump
  B. Sysinternals Autoruns
  C. Volatility
  D. Memoryze
  C. Volatility

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  Explanation Explanation/Reference:Volatility is an open-source memory forensics tool specifically designed for memory analysis. It allows forensic investigators to inspect memory dumps for running processes, hidden processes, injected code, and malicious activity in memory. As per the Cisco CyberOps Associate study guide, "Volatility helps security professionals with both incident response and malware analysis. It can identify processes, registry artifacts, network connections, and memory- resident malware". While Memoryze (D) is also a memory analysis tool, Volatility is the more recognized, command-line driven tool used widely in industry and is directly highlighted in the curriculum.

• Question 98:

  Snort detects traffic that is targeting vulnerabilities in files that belong to software in the Microsoft Office suite. On a SIEM tool, the SOC analyst sees an alert from Cisco FMC. Cisco FMC is implemented with Snort IDs. Which alert message is shown?

  A. FILE-OFFICE Microsoft Graphics buffer overflow
  B. FILE-OFFICE Microsoft Graphics cross site scripting (XSS)
  C. FILE-OFFICE Microsoft Graphics SQL INJECTION
  D. FILE-OFFICE Microsoft Graphics remote code execution attempt
  D. FILE-OFFICE Microsoft Graphics remote code execution attempt

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  Explanation Explanation/Reference:Cisco Firepower Management Center (FMC), when configured with Snort rules, classifies attacks with signature categories such as FILE-OFFICE for Microsoft Office-based exploits. One of the critical threats involving Microsoft Office is a known vector involving Microsoft Graphics, which attackers exploit for remote code execution (RCE) . RCE vulnerabilities enable attackers to execute arbitrary commands or code on the target machine--making this classification high-severity. The alert "FILE-OFFICE Microsoft Graphics remote code execution attempt" is consistent with what Cisco and Snort define for such threats and appears in rulesets addressing vulnerabilities like CVE-2017-0001. Cisco Secure Firewall Threat Defense and Snort rule categories in the Cisco CyberOps v1.2 Guide.

• Question 99:

  What is the goal of an incident response plan?

  A. to identify critical systems and resources in an organization
  B. to ensure systems are in place to prevent an attack
  C. to determine security weaknesses and recommend solutions
  D. to contain an attack and prevent it from spreading
  D. to contain an attack and prevent it from spreading

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  The goal of an incident response plan (IRP) is to provide structured procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents in a way that limits damage, contains the threat, and ensures business continuity. As outlined in the NIST SP 800-61 and Cisco CyberOps Associate study guide, containment and minimizing the impact of incidents is the primary goal of an IRP.

• Question 100:

  Over the last year, an organization's HR department has accessed data from its legal department on the last day of each month to create a monthly activity report. An engineer is analyzing suspicious activity alerted by a threat intelligence platform that an authorized user in the HR department has accessed legal data daily for the last week. The engineer pulled the network data from the legal department's shared folders and discovered above average-size data dumps. Which threat actor is implied from these artifacts?

  A. privilege escalation
  B. internal user errors
  C. malicious insider
  D. external exfiltration
  C. malicious insider

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  Explanation Explanation/Reference:A "malicious insider" is someone within the organization who has authorized access but intentionally misuses that access to extract or exfiltrate data. In this case: The HR user has legitimate access but deviates from their normal behavior pattern (accessing legal data daily instead of monthly). The presence of large data dumps and the alert from a threat intelligence platform suggest intentional misuse rather than accidental behavior. According to the Cisco CyberOps Associate guide, insider threats are identified by behavioral anomalies, especially involving sensitive data access patterns inconsistent with role-based access and historical usage profiles.