CompTIA CySA+ Practice Test

Which connection status message from netstat indicates currently active connections?

1. LISTENING

2. ESTABLISHED

3. TIME_WAIT

4. CLOSE_WAIT

The correct answer is: ESTABLISHED

The status message "ESTABLISHED" from netstat indicates that a connection is currently active and data can be exchanged between the two endpoints. This state confirms that a connection has been successfully established and is in use, allowing for communication to occur without any interruptions. In network protocols, particularly TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), an established connection implies that both parties involved in the communication have completed the handshake process and have agreed on the parameters of the data exchange. The other statuses serve different purposes in the connection lifecycle. "LISTENING" means that a socket is waiting for incoming connections, but it does not imply that any connections are currently active. "TIME_WAIT" indicates that a connection has been closed but must remain in this state for a certain period to ensure that any delayed packets can be handled properly. "CLOSE_WAIT" signifies that one side of the connection has closed, and the other side has not yet fully terminated the connection. Thus, they do not represent active data exchanges but rather various transitional states in the connection process.