nerdexam
CompTIA

SY0-501 · Question #453

Which of the following uses precomputed hashes to guess passwords?

The correct answer is C. Rainbow tables. Rainbow tables are a cryptographic attack tool that uses precomputed hashes to efficiently reverse hash functions and guess passwords.

Submitted by luis.pe· Mar 4, 2026Threats, vulnerabilities, and mitigations

Question

Which of the following uses precomputed hashes to guess passwords?

Options

  • AIptables
  • BNAT tables
  • CRainbow tables
  • DARP tables

How the community answered

(25 responses)
  • A
    4% (1)
  • B
    8% (2)
  • C
    84% (21)
  • D
    4% (1)

Why each option

Rainbow tables are a cryptographic attack tool that uses precomputed hashes to efficiently reverse hash functions and guess passwords.

AIptables

Iptables is a utility for configuring firewall rules in Linux, used for network packet filtering, not for guessing passwords.

BNAT tables

NAT tables store rules for Network Address Translation, which modifies IP addresses in network traffic, not for password cracking.

CRainbow tablesCorrect

Rainbow tables are precomputed tables designed for reversing cryptographic hash functions, particularly for password cracking. They store a large set of precomputed hash values along with their corresponding plaintext inputs, allowing an attacker to quickly look up a given password hash and find its original password without needing to perform a brute-force attack.

DARP tables

ARP tables store mappings between IP addresses and MAC addresses for local network communication, not for password guessing.

Concept tested: Password cracking techniques (Rainbow Tables)

Source: https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/Rainbow_table_attack

Topics

#rainbow tables#password cracking#hash attacks#cryptography

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Full SY0-501 Practice