Question

Jason has user rights on his Linux workstation but he wants to read his department's financial reports, which he knows are stored in a directory that only administrators can access. He executes a local exploit, which gives him the ability to act as a root. Which type of attack did Jason perform in the given scenario?

A)Zero-day
B)Rootkit
C)Session hijacking
D)Privilege escalation

Answer 1

Jason performed a privilege escalation attack by using a local exploit to gain root access. This allowed him to bypass normal user permissions and access restricted data. Privilege escalation is a critical security issue that enables attackers to gain unauthorized system control.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the scenario described, Jason has performed a privilege escalation attack. This type of attack occurs when a user gains unauthorized higher levels of permission within a system's hierarchy by exploiting a vulnerability. Since Jason executed a local exploit to gain root access, he was able to elevate his user rights to those of an administrator, even though he was initially only granted user-level permissions.

This is different from a zero-day attack, which exploits a previously unknown vulnerability; a rootkit, which is a type of malware designed to provide continued privileged access to a computer while concealing itself; and session hijacking, which involves taking over a legitimate user session. Privilege escalation is a serious security concern because it can allow an attacker to gain control over systems and access sensitive data like the department's financial reports that Jason sought after.