GCFA Practice Questions: Introduction to Memory Forensics Domain

Published: October 14, 2025 | 20 min read

Test your GCFA knowledge with 10 practice questions from the Introduction to Memory Forensics domain. Includes detailed explanations and answers.

GCFA Practice Questions

Master the Introduction to Memory Forensics Domain

Test your knowledge in the Introduction to Memory Forensics domain with these 10 practice questions. Each question is designed to help you prepare for the GCFA certification exam with detailed explanations to reinforce your learning.

Question 1

What is the primary purpose of using the 'malfind' plugin in Volatility during memory analysis?

A) To find hidden files

B) To detect injected code

C) To list user accounts

D) To recover deleted emails

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The 'malfind' plugin in Volatility is designed to detect injected code in processes, which is a common indicator of malware. It does not find hidden files, list user accounts, or recover emails.

Question 2

While analyzing a memory dump, you encounter a suspicious process with PID 1234. Which Volatility command helps identify the parent process?

A) pslist

B) pstree

C) dlllist

D) cmdscan

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The 'pstree' command in Volatility displays processes in a hierarchical tree format, showing parent-child relationships. 'pslist' only lists processes, 'dlllist' shows loaded DLLs, and 'cmdscan' searches for command history.

Question 3

During a memory analysis, you discover a suspicious process with PID 4567. Which Volatility command can help identify the network connections associated with this process?

A) netscan

B) pslist

C) dlllist

D) cmdscan

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: The 'netscan' command in Volatility is used to list network connections and can help associate specific connections with the process PID 4567. 'pslist' shows running processes, 'dlllist' lists loaded DLLs, and 'cmdscan' shows command prompt history.

Question 4

While reviewing a memory dump, you observe suspicious activity in the svchost.exe process. Which Volatility plugin would you use to investigate the DLLs loaded by this process?

A) dlllist

B) pstree

C) cmdscan

D) netscan

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: The 'dlllist' plugin in Volatility lists the DLLs loaded by processes, which is useful for investigating svchost.exe. 'pstree' shows process hierarchy, 'cmdscan' scans for command history, and 'netscan' identifies network connections.

Question 5

While analyzing memory, you find an unknown DLL loaded into multiple processes. Which tool or command can help you determine if this DLL is potentially malicious?

A) sigcheck

B) procdump

C) netstat

D) ipconfig

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: 'sigcheck' is a tool that verifies digital signatures of files, helping determine if a DLL is signed by a trusted source or potentially malicious. 'procdump' is for capturing process dumps, 'netstat' shows network connections, and 'ipconfig' displays network configuration.

Question 6

While analyzing a memory dump using Volatility, you find a process with a suspiciously high handle count. Which command would you use to investigate open files or registry keys associated with this process?

A) handles

B) pslist

C) dlllist

D) cmdscan

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: The 'handles' command in Volatility is used to list open handles for processes, including files and registry keys. 'pslist' lists processes but not handles. 'dlllist' shows loaded DLLs, and 'cmdscan' searches for command history.

Question 7

While analyzing memory, you find a suspicious network connection. Which Volatility plugin should you use to gather more information about this connection?

A) netscan

B) connscan

C) sockets

D) procdump

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: The 'netscan' plugin provides detailed information about network connections, including IP addresses and ports. 'connscan' finds connections but with less detail, 'sockets' shows open sockets, and 'procdump' is used to dump process memory.

Question 8

In a memory forensics investigation, which memory structure would you examine to find evidence of code injection?

A) PEB

B) VAD

C) EPROCESS

D) KTHREAD

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: B

Explanation: The Virtual Address Descriptor (VAD) tree is used to manage virtual memory regions and can reveal anomalies indicative of code injection. PEB, EPROCESS, and KTHREAD are not directly related to detecting code injection.

Question 9

What is the primary purpose of analyzing the Pagefile in memory forensics?

A) To recover deleted files

B) To analyze network connections

C) To find additional memory fragments

D) To view system logs

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The Pagefile can contain additional memory fragments that were swapped out, providing more context or data not present in the main memory dump. It is not primarily used for file recovery, network analysis, or log viewing.

Question 10

A memory dump reveals an active process communicating with an external IP. Which artifact is most useful to prioritize for identifying the nature of this communication?

A) Network packet capture

B) System log files

C) Prefetch files

D) Browser history

Show Answer & Explanation

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: A network packet capture provides detailed information about the contents and nature of network communications, which is crucial for understanding the process's communication with an external IP. System logs, prefetch files, and browser history provide context but not the specific communication details.

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