CEH v13 Cryptography Practice Questions 2026

Cryptography: symmetric vs. asymmetric encryption, hashing, digital signatures, PKI, TLS, and hash attacks like rainbow tables. Exam focus: symmetric versus asymmetric, hash versus MAC, and where each breaks — AES modes, RSA key sizes, PKI trust chains, TLS handshakes, and why padding oracles and weak PRNGs defeat "secure" systems in exam scenarios.

⚠️ Important Disclaimer: These practice questions are original study material created by CEHStudy for educational purposes. They are NOT EC-Council exam questions and do NOT replicate the actual exam. CEHStudy is not affiliated with or endorsed by EC-Council.

Question 1: Symmetric encryption is characterized by:

A) Using the same key for both encryption and decryption (e.g., AES) B) Using a public/private key pair per user C) Requiring no keys of any kind D) Always being one-way and irreversible

Answer: A — AES, 3DES, RC4, and Blowfish are symmetric — fast but requiring secure key distribution; asymmetric solves the distribution problem.

Question 2: Which of the following is an asymmetric algorithm?

A) RSA B) Blowfish C) 3DES D) AES

Answer: A — RSA (and ECC, Diffie-Hellman) use key pairs; AES/3DES/Blowfish are all symmetric block or stream ciphers.

Question 3: A cryptographic hash function such as SHA-256 is:

A) A symmetric cipher used for TLS record encryption B) A standard for compressing files C) Reversible with the correct decryption key D) One-way — it maps arbitrary data to a fixed-size digest that cannot be reversed

Answer: D — Small input changes alter the whole digest (avalanche effect) — hashes underpin integrity checks, password storage, and digital signatures.

Question 4: The core components of PKI include:

A) Certificate Authority (CA), Registration Authority (RA), digital certificates, and revocation lists (CRL) B) DNS, DHCP, and WINS services C) SAM, Active Directory, and GPOs D) Routers, switches, and firewalls

Answer: A — The CA signs X.509 certificates binding identities to public keys; the RA vets applicants; CRLs/OCSP keep revoked certs out of trust.

Question 5: In a digital signature, the sender:

A) Compresses the file before sending it B) Encrypts (signs) a hash of the message with their private key C) Decrypts the message with the recipient's public key D) Attaches their private key to the document in clear text

Answer: B — The recipient verifies with the sender's public key — proving authenticity and integrity (and non-repudiation), without exposing the private key.

Question 6: MD5 and SHA-1 are considered unsuitable for new security designs because:

A) They are asymmetric algorithms by design B) They require secret keys to operate C) They are too slow for modern hardware D) Practical collision attacks have broken their one-collision-resistance property (SHAttered for SHA-1, long-known collisions for MD5)

Answer: D — If two inputs can share a hash, forged files/certificates become possible — use SHA-2 (or BLAKE3) and memory-hard password hashing (bcrypt, Argon2).

Question 7: Steganography differs from cryptography in that it hides:

A) Network routing paths between hosts B) The very existence of the message (inside images, audio, or video) rather than its content C) Only the sender's identity from recipients D) File permission settings on disk

Answer: B — Cryptography says 'this is secret'; steganography says 'there is no secret at all' — often layered together in the field.

Question 8: HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Code) combines a hash function with a secret key to provide:

A) Compression for efficient transmission B) Digital non-repudiation via public-key signatures C) Both integrity and authentication of a message D) Confidentiality only — it fully encrypts the payload

Answer: C — Anyone with the shared key can verify the tag; it's used in IPsec, TLS MACs, and API auth (e.g., AWS request signing).

Question 9: Perfect Forward Secrecy (e.g., via ECDHE) ensures that:

A) TLS handshakes complete faster only B) Each user receives a permanent, never-changing key C) Compromise of a long-term private key does not expose previously captured session traffic D) Digital certificates never expire

Answer: C — Ephemeral per-session keys mean bulk-captured (harvest-now-decrypt-later) data stays safe even if the server's long-term key later leaks.

Question 10: Shor's algorithm on a large quantum computer would break:

A) Steganographic carriers inside image files B) SHA-256 by inverting arbitrary digests C) AES-256 by directly recovering its key D) RSA and ECC, because it efficiently solves factoring and discrete-log problems — driving post-quantum standards (e.g., lattice-based crypto)

Answer: D — Grover's algorithm only halves symmetric key strength (mitigated by longer keys), but Shor breaks the math behind RSA/ECC/DH — hence NIST's post-quantum standardization.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many CEH v13 Cryptography practice questions are on this page?

This page includes 10 original multiple-choice practice questions for CEH v13 Module 20 (Cryptography). Each question includes a detailed explanation of the correct answer and why the other options are wrong. The full CEHStudy question bank covers all 20 modules with 200+ questions — see the practice hub at https://cehstudy.com/ceh-practice-questions/ for every module.

What does CEH v13 Module 20 (Cryptography) cover?

Cryptography: symmetric vs. asymmetric encryption, hashing, digital signatures, PKI, TLS, and hash attacks like rainbow tables. These are the same topics tested under this module on the EC-Council 312-50 exam. Pair this quiz with our free Module 20 flashcards at https://cehstudy.com/ceh-v13/module-20/ to close any gaps.

Are these real CEH exam questions?

No. Every question on CEHStudy is original study material written for exam preparation. They match the style, difficulty, and domain coverage of the actual CEH v13 exam but are not leaked or reproduced EC-Council questions.

How should I use this Cryptography quiz for exam prep?

Answer all 10 questions without peeking at explanations, then click "Show My Score". Review every explanation — especially the ones you missed — and re-test those topics with our free CEH flashcards. Aim for 80% or higher on module quizzes before scheduling the exam.

Where do I find CEH Cryptography flashcards?

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CEH v13 Module 20: Cryptography — Free Practice Questions with Explanations