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GPEN · Question #180

Every network device contains a unique built in Media Access Control (MAC) address, which is used to identify the authentic device to limit the network access. Which of the following addresses is a va

The correct answer is A. A3-07-B9-E3-BC-F9. A valid MAC address is 48 bits expressed as six pairs of hexadecimal digits (0-9, A-F) separated by hyphens or colons; only option A matches this IEEE 802 standard format.

Penetration Testing Foundations & Reconnaissance

Question

Every network device contains a unique built in Media Access Control (MAC) address, which is used to identify the authentic device to limit the network access. Which of the following addresses is a valid MAC address?

Options

  • AA3-07-B9-E3-BC-F9
  • BF936.28A1.5BCD.DEFA
  • C1011-0011-1010-1110-1100-0001
  • D132.298.1.23

How the community answered

(18 responses)
  • A
    83% (15)
  • C
    6% (1)
  • D
    11% (2)

Why each option

A valid MAC address is 48 bits expressed as six pairs of hexadecimal digits (0-9, A-F) separated by hyphens or colons; only option A matches this IEEE 802 standard format.

AA3-07-B9-E3-BC-F9Correct

A3-07-B9-E3-BC-F9 contains exactly six octets of two hexadecimal digits each, separated by hyphens, which fully conforms to the IEEE 802 EUI-48 MAC address standard for a 48-bit hardware identifier. Every character falls within the valid hexadecimal range (0-9 and A-F), and the total length is the required 48 bits.

BF936.28A1.5BCD.DEFA

F936.28A1.5BCD.DEFA uses four groups of four hex digits totaling 64 bits, which exceeds the 48-bit MAC address length and does not match the IEEE 802 EUI-48 format.

C1011-0011-1010-1110-1100-0001

1011-0011-1010-1110-1100-0001 is a binary representation of bits rather than hexadecimal octets, which is not a valid or recognized MAC address notation.

D132.298.1.23

132.298.1.23 uses dotted-decimal notation resembling an IPv4 address, not hexadecimal pairs; additionally, the octet value 298 exceeds the maximum of 255, making it invalid in any standard addressing scheme.

Concept tested: MAC address format validation and hexadecimal notation

Source: https://standards.ieee.org/faqs/regauth/

Topics

#MAC address#network addressing#OSI layer 2#hardware identification

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