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(ISC)2

SSCP · Question #708

A packet containing a long string of NOP's followed by a command is usually indicative of what?

The correct answer is C. A buffer overflow attack. A series of the same control, hexidecimal, characters imbedded in the string is usually an indicator of a buffer overflow attack. A NOP is a instruction which does nothing (No Operation - the hexadecimal equivalent is 0x90) The following answers are incorrect: A syn scan. This…

Submitted by mateo_ar· Apr 18, 2026Systems and Application Security

Question

A packet containing a long string of NOP's followed by a command is usually indicative of what?

Options

  • AA syn scan.
  • BA half-port scan.
  • CA buffer overflow attack.
  • DA packet destined for the network's broadcast address.

How the community answered

(44 responses)
  • B
    2% (1)
  • C
    95% (42)
  • D
    2% (1)

Explanation

A series of the same control, hexidecimal, characters imbedded in the string is usually an indicator of a buffer overflow attack. A NOP is a instruction which does nothing (No Operation - the hexadecimal equivalent is 0x90) The following answers are incorrect: A syn scan. This is incorrect because a SYN scan is when a SYN packet is sent to a specific port and the results are then analyzed. A half-port scan. This is incorrect because the port scanner generates a SYN packet. If the target port is open, it will respond with a SYN-ACK packet. The scanner host responds with a RST packet, closing the connection before the handshake is completed. Also known as a Half Open A packet destined for the network's broadcast address. This is incorrect because this type of packet would not contain a long string of NOP characters.

Topics

#Buffer Overflow#Exploitation#Code Injection#Vulnerability

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