A network administrator is troubleshooting a connectivity issue between two devices on two different subnets. The administrator verifies that both devices can successfully ping other devices on the same subnet. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the connectivity issue?

A faulty Ethernet cable would typically cause connectivity issues within a single subnet, leading to the inability to communicate with any device, not just those on different subnets. Since both devices can ping other devices on their respective subnets, this option does not explain the specific issue of inter-subnet connectivity.

Wrong duplex settings can lead to communication issues but would generally cause problems in the overall network performance rather than selectively affecting connectivity between devices on different subnets. Both devices functioning correctly within their own subnet indicates that duplex settings are likely not the cause of the issue.

A VLAN mismatch could potentially stop communication between devices on different VLANs, but this issue would not manifest as successful pings within the same subnet. If both devices are configured on the same VLAN and still cannot communicate across subnets, a VLAN mismatch is less likely to be the cause.