Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What countermeasure helps a security specialist defend against command injection attacks?

1. Regularly update software

2. Avoid executing commands such as exec

3. Enhance password strength

4. Use logging and monitoring

The correct answer is: Avoid executing commands such as exec

To effectively defend against command injection attacks, avoiding the execution of commands such as exec is a crucial countermeasure. Command injection occurs when an attacker is able to execute arbitrary commands on a host operating system via a vulnerable application. By circumventing the use of command execution functions, such as exec, a security specialist reduces the attack surface significantly. When these functions are not utilized, it creates an environment that inherently limits an attacker’s ability to gain control or execute malicious commands, thereby enhancing the overall security posture. Additionally, input validation and sanitization are often coupled with this practice, further ensuring that user inputs cannot manipulate command execution. While regularly updating software, enhancing password strength, and using logging and monitoring are all important aspects of a comprehensive security strategy, they do not specifically target the vulnerabilities that lead to command injection attacks. In this case, the most direct and effective measure against such attacks is to avoid executing potentially unsafe commands within applications.