Cisco 300-215 Conducting Forensic Analysis and Incident Response Using Cisco CyberOps Technologies (CBRFIR) Exam Practice Test

The exhibit shows multipleARP reply packetswith the same IP addresses (192.168.51.105and192.168.51.201) being mapped todifferent MAC addresses, which triggers the message: "duplicate use of [IP] detected". This is a strong indicator of anARP spoofing(or poisoning) attack.

ARP spoofing occurs when a malicious actor sends falsified ARP messages to associate their MAC address with the IP address of another host. This misleads other devices on the network and allows interception or redirection of traffic.

The Cisco CyberOps Associate guide specifically recommendsconfiguring port securityon switches as a method tomitigate ARP spoofing, by limiting the number of MAC addresses allowed per port or statically assigning legitimate MAC addresses to switch ports.

Input validation (A) is a critical countermeasure to defend against command injection and related vulnerabilities, as discussed in the Cisco guide. Proper validation ensures that malicious commands or payloads are not accepted or executed by the web application.

File integrity monitoring (E) helps detect unauthorized changes such as log deletion or binary modification, making it a crucial tool in recognizing and investigating tampering attempts.Blocking port 443 (B) would disable HTTPS and is not a practical solution. Antivirus (C) does not prevent form-based application attacks, and merely updating the application (D) may not be sufficient without addressing the underlying input validation flaw.

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When analyzing suspicious files in a sandbox environment, a security analyst focuses on identifying and evaluating their behavior in a controlled setting to confirm potential malicious activity:

Inspect processes (B): Observing the processes that the file spawns or injects into during execution helps identify malicious actions or privilege escalation. This is a crucial part of dynamic analysis in the sandbox environment.

Inspect PE header (E): The PE (Portable Executable) header contains metadata about how the file will execute on Windows systems. It reveals details such as the entry point, libraries used, and whether the file is suspiciously crafted or packed, which can be strong indicators of malicious behavior.

The other options (A, C, D) are important in the broader forensic analysis, but within thesandbox dynamic analysis, focusing on process behavior and file execution headers is critical for determining how the file interacts with the system and whether it is indeed malicious.

The string shown is long, alphanumeric, and includes both uppercase and lowercase letters with numbers—characteristics of Base64 encoding. This format is widely used to obfuscate payloads in malicious scripts, particularly in phishing or malware campaigns. Base64 encoding is also supported by Python and other platforms for data transformation.

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In VMware ESXi systems, the vmksummary.log file is responsible for capturing general system events, including uptime, reboot statistics, and key service-related issues. It serves as a valuable source for troubleshooting persistent or unexplained system behaviors.

The Cisco CyberOps study guide references log file paths used in system diagnostics and incident response, and for authentication-related issues on ESXi where standard logs don't yield insights, vmksummary.log is the recommended next source for identifying systemic service faults or anomalies.

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The syntax in the code snippet includes:

On Error Resume Next– a classic VBScript error-handling directive.

function ... end functionstructure.

Use ofMid(),Chr(), andAsc()functions – all commonly used in VBScript for string manipulation.

CInt()for conversion – typical in VBScript.

These characteristics alignexactly with VBScript, which is frequently used in malicious macros and obfuscated payloads for malware distribution, as covered in the Cisco CyberOps Associate curriculum when analyzing scripts and encoded threats.

The first and most important step in forensic analysis is to preserve the integrity of the data. According to best practices outlined in the Cisco CyberOps Associate guide and NIST 800-86, forensic investigators must first produce a forensically sound, bit-by-bit copy of the system’s data (i.e., imaging). This enables analysis to occur without altering the original evidence, which is essential for legal admissibility and maintaining the chain of custody.

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.

TCPdump is a command-line packet analyzer used to capture and inspect network packets. As described in the study guide, "tcpdump is a command-line interface tool that is used to capture packets on a network. It is a very powerful and popular network protocol analyzer". The tool allows cybersecurity professionals to analyze headers and payloads of network traffic, making it valuable in forensic investigations and network diagnostics.

The alert indicates aWebDAV Stack Buffer Overflow, which is amemory corruptionattack targeting the stack, a common vector forremote code executionordenial-of-service (DoS).

To mitigate such exploits, two effective system-hardening techniques are:

C. Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR):Randomizes memory addresses used by system and application processes, making it difficult for attackers to predict where their malicious code will be executed.

E. Data Execution Prevention (DEP):Prevents execution of code from non-executable memory regions such as the stack, thus stopping buffer overflow attacks from successfully executing payloads.

Both are well-established protections against stack-based buffer overflow attacks and are strongly recommended in the Cisco CyberOps Associate guide and general security best practices.

The PowerShell cmdlet Get-Content reads content line-by-line from a file and is commonly used for processing logs or large text files. When combined with Select-String, it can search for specific patterns (such as "ERROR" or "SUCCESS") within those lines and return a collection of matching objects, including metadata like line number and line content.

Option D uses:

Get-Content –Path: Correct syntax to read the log file from a UNC path.

Select-String “ERROR”, “SUCCESS”: Searches for these terms in each line and returns matching lines as structured output.

The other options (A, B, C) use non-existent or incorrect cmdlets/parameters such as Get-Content-Folder, –ifmatch, –Directory, which are invalid in PowerShell.

According to the Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate guide (Chapter 5 - Identifying Attack Methods), attachments in emails—especially with file extensions like.xlsm—are high-risk indicators when analyzing suspicious or phishing emails. Malicious actors often use macro-enabled Excel files (.xlsm) as a payload delivery mechanism for malware or other exploits. These attachments are typically disguised as legitimate content such as refunds or invoices to trick the recipient into opening them.

The presence of“Card_Refund_18_6913.xlsm”is a strongIndicator of Compromise (IoC), as.xlsmfiles can contain VBA macros capable of executing malicious code. This matches exactly with examples provided in the study material discussing how macro-based payloads are delivered and recognized.

Hence,option Cis the most direct indicator of attack in this email.

According to theCyberOps Technologies (CBRFIR) 300-215 study guidecurriculum, command-and-control (C2) communication is a strong indicator that a system has already been compromised and is actively under the control of an attacker. Sudden outbound traffic to high-risk regions and resolution of known malicious domains are high-confidence signs of an active threat. Therefore, prioritizing detection and disruption of this outbound traffic is critical to prevent further damage or data exfiltration.

While monitoring vulnerability exploitation (B) and gathering port scan data (D) are also valuable, they are more preventive or forensic in nature. The most immediate threat—and therefore the top priority—is stopping active C2 communications.

The alert clearly identifies ET SCAN DirBuster Web App Scan in Progress, referencingSID 2008186, which is a Snort signature that specifically detectsDirBusteractivity. DirBuster is a well-known tool used for brute-forcing hidden directories and files on web servers.

The Cisco CyberOps Associate guide and OWASP both identifydirectory brute-forcingas a reconnaissance technique to find unprotected or misconfigured endpoints on web applications, typically prior to launching deeper attacks.

Therefore, the correct interpretation of the alert is:

C. brute-force attack against directories and files on the target webserver.

Using adifferent IP addressto disguise the origin of an attack is the definition ofIP spoofing.

“Spoofing involves falsifying data, such as IP or MAC addresses, to hide the source of malicious activity.” — Cisco CyberOps guide

In the provided Wireshark capture, we see multiple TCP SYN packets being sent from different source IP addresses to the same destination IP address(192.168.1.159:80)within a short time window. These SYN packets do not show a corresponding SYN-ACK or ACK response, indicating that these TCP connection requests are not being completed.

This pattern is indicative of aSYN flood attack, a type of Denial of Service (DoS) attack. In this attack, a malicious actor floods the target system with a high volume of TCP SYN requests, leaving the target's TCP connection queue (backlog) filled with half-open connections. This can exhaust system resources, causing legitimate connection requests to be denied or delayed.

Thecountermeasurefor this scenario, as highlighted in theCyberOps Technologies (CBRFIR) 300-215 study guideunderNetwork-Based Attacks and TCP SYN Flood Attacks, involves:

Increasing the backlog queue: This allows the server to hold more half-open connections.

Recycling the oldest half-open connections: This ensures that legitimate connections have a chance to be established if the backlog fills up.

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.

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The Wireshark output shows SMB protocol transactions, including NT Create AndX Response and Write AndX Response, indicating the transfer of files or objects. SMB (Server Message Block) is a protocol used for file sharing and printer access in Windows networks. The log does not indicate phishing or redirection behavior but rather normal SMB communication such as accessing files or shared resources.

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The best immediate step during a DDoS attack against an Apache web server is to inspect theaccess logs, which will show which IP addresses are making requests, their frequency, and potential patterns of abuse. As covered in the Cisco CyberOps material, "Apache logs can reveal the IPs responsible for flooding the service with requests". The commandsudo tail -100 /var/log/apache2/access.logallows quick review of recent activity.

To prepare a post-incident report, thecauseof the incident (what enabled it) and theeffect(what damage was done) are the primary components analyzed first. This allows teams to understand vulnerabilities exploited and the consequences, forming the basis for corrective action.

The Cisco CyberOps guide recommends beginning withroot cause analysisfollowed by impact assessment to guide future prevention strategies.

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 forremote 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.

One of the primary challenges of cloud forensics is the inability to physically access the underlying hardware (e.g., the hard drives storing VM or container data). This restricts investigators from performing traditional disk imaging and handling procedures, which are crucial for maintaining evidence integrity. This limitation is widely recognized in cloud forensics frameworks.

Correct answer: C. no physical access to the hard drive.

The command in the image usesschtasks /createwith theONLOGONschedule andSystemuser context to executetest.exe. This is a well-documented persistence technique, where an attacker ensures that a malicious executable is launched automatically at each system logon. This kind of scheduled task creation aligns with persistence techniques in the MITRE ATT&CK framework (T1053).

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If IPS and SIEM logs do not give enough insight into a file's behavior, the next logical step is to review theAntivirus solutionlogs. These logs often provide detailed behavior analytics such as:

File actions and access patterns

Registry modifications

File execution history

The Cisco CyberOps guide emphasizes AV logs as critical forensic artifacts for understanding endpoint-based infections, especially when beaconing or suspicious activity is suspected.

Cisco Secure Malware Analytics (formerly Threat Grid) enables deep file behavior analysis, including TCP/IP stream analysis and behavioral indicators such as file system activity, process injection, registry changes, and command and control communication. These are essential in understanding what the suspicious file does post-execution, especially given the described behavior of creating a fake folder and outbound connection attempts.

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Ghidrais a free and open-source software reverse engineering (SRE) suite developed by the NSA. It includes disassembly, decompilation, and debugging tools specifically designed for analyzing malware and other compiled programs.

The Cisco CyberOps guide referencesGhidraas a top tool for reverse engineering binary files during malware analysis tasks, making it ideal for understanding malicious code behavior at a deeper level.

The goal of the given Python code is to parse an Apache access log and extract IP addresses using regular expressions (regex). In this context, the most appropriate regex pattern to extract IPv4 addresses from log data is:

r'\d{1,3}.\d{1,3}.\d{1,3}.\d{1,3}'

This pattern matches typical IPv4 addresses, where each octet consists of 1 to 3 digits separated by periods. For example, it matches addresses like192.168.1.1or10.0.0.123. The pattern uses:

\d{1,3}to capture between 1 and 3 digits,

\.to match the dot (escaped since.is a special character in regex),

repeated 4 times with proper separation to form the full IPv4 structure.

Options A, B, and C either include incorrect syntax, improper escape sequences, or do not represent a valid IP address pattern.

This type of log analysis and pattern extraction is described in the Cisco CyberOps Associate curriculum under basic scripting and automation techniques used in log and artifact analysis.

The log entry shows a failed SSH login attempt for an invalid user “admin” from IP192.168.1.100. As the system has just gone live and no legitimate use is expected, this could be an early reconnaissance or brute-force attempt. However, blocking IPs or resetting passwords without fully understanding the context could lead to incomplete remediation or false positives.

According to Cisco CyberOps best practices, the first step is to thoroughly investigate the alert by correlating it with other logs (e.g., authentication logs, IDS/IPS logs) to determine the intent and scope of activity.

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Cisco Secure Endpoint (formerly AMP for Endpoints) offers features like:

File trajectory: to track file behavior and spread across endpoints.

Orbital Advanced Search: for querying endpoint data to detect threats in real time.

From the exhibit, the first artifact (PE32 executable fromsyracusecoffee.com) and the second artifact (HTML fromqstride.com) suggest astaged malware deliverymethod. The executable and the HTML file are linked to different domains, often indicating redirection or multi-stage infection strategies, which is common in phishing or malvertising campaigns.

The Cisco guide explains this tactic as:“One file may appear benign but can initiate downloads or connections to external resources to fetch additional payloads or redirect users”. This pattern of domain redirection strongly supportsOption B.

This scenario describes asubstitution cipher, where data is made unreadable or less recognizable without altering its functionality. According to the Cisco CyberOps Associate guide, obfuscation includes techniques such as shifting, encoding, and symbol manipulation to mask the true nature of data or code:

"A very well-known cipher, the Caesar cipher... shifts the letter of the alphabet by a fixed number... This technique is a form of data obfuscation used to bypass detection mechanisms.".

YARA rulesare designed to identifyfilesthat match specific patterns, strings, or binary characteristics.

The Cisco CyberOps guide states:

“YARA helps researchers and analysts identify and classify malware samples based on textual or binary patterns”.