nerdexam
GIAC

GCIH · Question #618

An analyst is reviewing a packet capture from a large sample of mixed protocols. Which of the following tcpdump Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) filters would reduce the data set to the information below?

The correct answer is B. udp and port 123. The BPF filter 'udp and port 123' isolates NTP traffic, which runs exclusively over UDP on port 123, matching the protocol data shown in the capture.

Reconnaissance, Scanning, and Enumeration

Question

An analyst is reviewing a packet capture from a large sample of mixed protocols. Which of the following tcpdump Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) filters would reduce the data set to the information below?

Exhibit

GCIH question #618 exhibit

Options

  • A(client or server) and >
  • Budp and port 123
  • Cnot icmp and (src host 173.14.48.133)
  • Dntp and IP

How the community answered

(45 responses)
  • A
    4% (2)
  • B
    78% (35)
  • C
    11% (5)
  • D
    7% (3)

Why each option

The BPF filter 'udp and port 123' isolates NTP traffic, which runs exclusively over UDP on port 123, matching the protocol data shown in the capture.

A(client or server) and >

'client' and 'server' are not valid BPF filter keywords, and '>' alone is not a recognized BPF comparison expression, making this an invalid and non-functional filter.

Budp and port 123Correct

NTP operates over UDP on well-known port 123, so 'udp and port 123' uses valid BPF primitives to precisely isolate NTP packets and exclude all other traffic. This filter is syntactically correct and uses the standard tcpdump 'proto and port' construction to target the exact transport and port combination that NTP requires.

Cnot icmp and (src host 173.14.48.133)

'not icmp and (src host 173.14.48.133)' would return all non-ICMP traffic from one IP address across every protocol and port, producing a far broader dataset than NTP traffic alone.

Dntp and IP

'ntp' is not a named protocol primitive in the BPF filter language; tcpdump does not recognize NTP by name, making this filter syntactically invalid and non-functional.

Concept tested: tcpdump BPF filter syntax for NTP protocol

Source: https://www.tcpdump.org/manpages/pcap-filter.7.html

Topics

#tcpdump#BPF filter#NTP#packet capture

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Full GCIH Practice