Chapter 3 of 9 · EC-Council 312-50

System Hacking Phases and Attack Techniques

Vulnerability assessment, gaining access, escalation, persistence, covering tracks and malware defenses.

  • 6topics
  • 30 minfast track
  • 15%of the exam
Start with Vulnerability Assessment

Topics in this chapter

Take them in order, or jump to the one you need.

  1. 1Vulnerability AssessmentLearn vulnerability assessment for CEH: life cycle, CVSS scores, CVE and CWE, classification, assessment types, scanners such as…5 min
  2. 2System Hacking, Gaining Access and Password CrackingLearn the CEH system hacking goals and the password attack classes: online, offline and non-electronic, hashes, rainbow tables…5 min
  3. 3Exploitation, Privilege Escalation and Maintaining AccessLearn how exploits, payloads and buffer overflows work in concept, privilege escalation types, keyloggers and spyware, and the…5 min
  4. 4Executing Applications, Hiding Files, Persistence and Clearing LogsLearn the later system hacking steps: remote execution, rootkits, alternate data streams, steganography, persistence and log…5 min
  5. 5Malware, APT and Trojan ConceptsLearn malware components and spread, the six stages of an advanced persistent threat, and how trojans infect hosts, are detected…5 min
  6. 6Viruses, Worms, Fileless Malware, Analysis and Anti-MalwareLearn virus types and life cycle, worms, fileless malware, static and dynamic malware analysis, malware countermeasures and…5 min

About this chapter

What this chapter covers

This chapter is 15% of the EC-Council CEH v13 312-50 exam. It covers vulnerability assessment, the phases of system hacking from gaining access to clearing logs, and malware: what it is, how it spreads, how it is analyzed and how it is stopped.

It stays at the level of concepts and exam objectives. There are no working exploits or step-by-step attack instructions, because the exam asks you to recognize the technique, the tool or the countermeasure. Questions are single-answer multiple choice.

It has 22 outline topics, grouped into six pages.

How the topics fit together

The chapter follows an intruder from finding weaknesses to controlling a system, and then to the malware that automates much of it.

Vulnerability assessmentfind and rank weaknessesGain accesscrack and exploitEscalate and persistmore rights, lasting accessCover trackshide and clearMalwaretrojans, worms, fileless
  • Vulnerability assessment finds, classifies and reports weaknesses before they are exploited.
  • System hacking is a set of goals: gain access, escalate privileges, maintain access and clear logs.
  • Malware is software built to do harm, and it appears throughout the attack path.
  • Countermeasures close each step, from patching and strong authentication to anti-malware software.
Exam tip

Memorize the order of the system hacking goals: gain access, escalate privileges, maintain access, clear logs. Many questions ask which step comes next.

How to use these pages

Each topic page has the same shape, so you can skim for what you need.

  • What it is: the idea in plain words.
  • How it works: the mechanism, with diagrams and example commands.
  • What to remember for the exam: the facts to memorize.
  • Common mistakes: the classic traps.
  • Check yourself: three questions to test your understanding.

Try to match each short scenario to its attack category before reading the answer. The exam often describes symptoms and asks for the attack name or the best fix.

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