What describes pivoting in post-exploitation?

• A. Moving laterally within the target network.
• B. Escalating privileges on the same host.
• C. Deleting data after exploitation.
• D. Rebooting the compromised host.

Answer: (B)

Pivoting in post-exploitation means using a compromised host as a foothold to reach other machines inside the network, effectively moving laterally. Once you have control of one host, you set up tunnels or proxies on that host so your attacker system can reach internal resources that aren’t directly accessible from outside. This lets you access additional hosts, services, or segments behind the firewall as if you were inside the network.

Privilege escalation on the same host is about increasing your rights on that single machine, which doesn’t by itself open paths to other systems. Deleting data or rebooting are disruptive actions, not mechanisms for expanding access through the network.