Score Higher on Verified HPE6-A78 | Aruba Certified Network Security Associate Exam Questions with Answers

Endpoint classification in HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) involves identifying and categorizing devices on the network to enforce access policies. CPPM supports two types of profiling methods: passive and active.

Passive Profiling: Involves observing network traffic that devices send as part of their normal operation, without CPPM sending any requests to the device. Examples include DHCP fingerprinting, HTTP User-Agent analysis, and TCP fingerprinting.

Active Profiling: Involves CPPM sending requests to the device to gather information, such as SNMP scans, WMI scans, or SSH probes.

Option A, "TCP fingerprinting," is correct. TCP fingerprinting is a passive profiling method where CPPM analyzes TCP packet headers (e.g., TTL, window size) in the device’s normal network traffic to identify its operating system. This does not require CPPM to send any requests to the device, making it a passive method.

Option B, "SSH scans," is incorrect. SSH scans involve actively connecting to a device over SSH to gather information (e.g., system details), which is an active profiling method.

Option C, "WMI scans," is incorrect. Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) scans involve CPPM querying a Windows device to gather information (e.g., OS version, installed software), which is an active profiling method.

Option D, "SNMP scans," is incorrect. SNMP scans involve CPPM sending SNMP requests to a device to gather information (e.g., system description, interfaces), which is an active profiling method.

The HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass Policy Manager 6.11 User Guide states:

"Passive profiling methods observe network traffic that endpoints send as part of their normal operation, without ClearPass sending any requests to the device. An example of passive profiling is TCP fingerprinting, where ClearPass analyzes TCP packet headers (e.g., TTL, window size) to identify the device’s operating system. Active profiling methods, such as SNMP scans, WMI scans, or SSH scans, involve ClearPass sending requests to the device to gather information." (Page 246, Passive vs. Active Profiling Section)

Additionally, the ClearPass Device Insight Data Sheet notes:

"Passive profiling techniques, such as TCP fingerprinting, allow ClearPass to identify devices without generating additional network traffic. By analyzing TCP attributes in the device’s normal traffic, ClearPass can fingerprint the OS, making it a non-intrusive method for endpoint classification." (Page 3, Profiling Methods Section)

A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack involves an attacker positioning themselves between a wireless client and the legitimate network to intercept or manipulate traffic. HPE Aruba Networking documentation often discusses MITM attacks in the context of wireless security threats and mitigation strategies.

Option D, "The hacker connects a device to the same wireless network as the client and responds to the client's ARP requests with the hacker device's MAC address," is correct. This describes an ARP poisoning (or ARP spoofing) attack, a common MITM technique in wireless networks. The hacker joins the same wireless network as the client (e.g., by authenticating with the same SSID and credentials). Once on the network, the hacker sends fake ARP responses to the client, associating the hacker’s MAC address with the IP address of the default gateway (or another target device). This causes the client to send traffic to the hacker’s device instead of the legitimate gateway, allowing the hacker to intercept, modify, or forward the traffic, thus performing an MITM attack.

Option A, "The hacker uses a combination of software and hardware to jam the RF band and prevent the client from connecting to any wireless networks," is incorrect. Jamming the RF band would disrupt all wireless communication, including the hacker’s ability to intercept traffic. This is a denial-of-service (DoS) attack, not an MITM attack.

Option B, "The hacker runs an NMap scan on the wireless client to find its MAC and IP address. The hacker then connects to another network and spoofs those addresses," is incorrect. NMap scans are used for network discovery and port scanning, not for implementing an MITM attack. Spoofing MAC and IP addresses on another network does not position the hacker to intercept the client’s traffic on the original network.

Option C, "The hacker uses spear-phishing to probe for the IP addresses that the client is attempting to reach. The hacker device then spoofs those IP addresses," is incorrect. Spear-phishing is a delivery method for malware or credentials theft, not a direct method for implementing an MITM attack. Spoofing IP addresses alone does not allow the hacker to intercept traffic unless they are on the same network and can manipulate routing (e.g., via ARP poisoning).

The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:

"A common man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack against wireless clients involves ARP poisoning. The hacker connects a device to the same wireless network as the client and sends fake ARP responses to the client, associating the hacker’s MAC address with the IP address of the default gateway. This causes the client to send traffic to the hacker’s device, allowing the hacker to intercept and manipulate the traffic." (Page 422, Wireless Threats Section)

Additionally, the HPE Aruba Networking Security Guide notes:

"ARP poisoning is a prevalent MITM attack in wireless networks. The attacker joins the same network as the client and responds to the client’s ARP requests with the attacker’s MAC address, redirecting traffic through the attacker’s device. This allows the attacker to intercept sensitive data or modify traffic between the client and the legitimate destination." (Page 72, Wireless MITM Attacks Section)

In an HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 Mobility Controller (MC), firewall rules are applied based on the user role assigned to a client. The rules are evaluated in order, and the first matching rule determines the action (permit or deny) for the packet. The client’s role has the following firewall rules:

ipv4 any any svc-dhcp permit: Permits DHCP traffic (UDP ports 67 and 68) from any source to any destination.

ipv4 user 10.5.5.20 svc-dns permit: Permits DNS traffic (UDP port 53) from the user to the IP address 10.5.5.20.

ipv4 user 10.1.5.0 255.255.255.0 https permit: Permits HTTPS traffic (TCP port 443) from the user to the subnet 10.1.5.0/24.

ipv4 user 10.1.0.0 255.255.0.0 https deny_opt: Denies HTTPS traffic from the user to the subnet 10.1.0.0/16, with the deny_opt action (which typically means deny with an optimized action, such as dropping the packet without logging).

ipv4 user any any permit: Permits all other traffic from the user to any destination.

The question asks how the MC treats HTTPS packets (TCP port 443) to two IP addresses: 10.1.20.1 and 10.5.5.20.

HTTPS packet to 10.1.20.1:

Rule 1: Does not match (traffic is HTTPS, not DHCP).

Rule 2: Does not match (destination is 10.1.20.1, not 10.5.5.20; traffic is HTTPS, not DNS).

Rule 3: Does not match (destination 10.1.20.1 is not in the subnet 10.1.5.0/24).

Rule 4: Matches (destination 10.1.20.1 is in the subnet 10.1.0.0/16, and traffic is HTTPS). The action is deny_opt, so the packet is denied.

HTTPS packet to 10.5.5.20:

Rule 1: Does not match (traffic is HTTPS, not DHCP).

Rule 2: Does not match (traffic is HTTPS, not DNS).

Rule 3: Does not match (destination 10.5.5.20 is not in the subnet 10.1.5.0/24).

Rule 4: Does not match (destination 10.5.5.20 is not in the subnet 10.1.0.0/16).

Rule 5: Matches (catches all other traffic). The action is permit, so the packet is permitted.

Therefore, the HTTPS packet to 10.1.20.1 is denied, and the HTTPS packet to 10.5.5.20 is permitted.

Option A, "Both packets are denied," is incorrect because the packet to 10.5.5.20 is permitted.

Option B, "The first packet is permitted, and the second is denied," is incorrect because the packet to 10.1.20.1 (first) is denied, and the packet to 10.5.5.20 (second) is permitted.

Option C, "Both packets are permitted," is incorrect because the packet to 10.1.20.1 is denied.

Option D, "The first packet is denied, and the second is permitted," is correct based on the rule evaluation.

The HPE Aruba Networking AOS-8 8.11 User Guide states:

"Firewall policies on the Mobility Controller are evaluated in order, and the first matching rule determines the action for the packet. For example, a rule such as ipv4 user 10.1.0.0 255.255.0.0 https deny_opt will deny HTTPS traffic to the specified subnet, while a subsequent rule like ipv4 user any any permit will permit all other traffic that does not match earlier rules. The ‘user’ keyword in the rule refers to the client’s IP address, and the rules are applied to traffic initiated by the client." (Page 325, Firewall Policies Section)

Additionally, the guide notes:

"The deny_opt action in a firewall rule drops the packet without logging, optimizing performance for high-volume traffic. Rules are processed sequentially, and only the first matching rule is applied." (Page 326, Firewall Actions Section)