CISSP Security Assessment and Testing — 10 Questions

Question 1

A security analyst runs a vulnerability scan against a web application and receives a report listing several critical vulnerabilities. However, the development team argues that many of these findings are false positives. Which of the following is the BEST next step for the analyst?

Accepted Answer

Manually verify a sample of the findings to confirm true vs. false positives.. Option B is correct because manual verification is the definitive method to distinguish true positives from false positives in vulnerability scanning. Automated scanners can produce false positives due to factors like incomplete service fingerprinting or reliance on banner grabbing, which may not reflect actual exploitability. The analyst must validate a representative sample of findings against the actual application behavior and configuration before taking further action.

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Re-scan the application with the same settings to confirm the results.

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Escalate all critical findings to management immediately.

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Retune the vulnerability scanner to reduce false positives and re-scan.

Question 2

A company is implementing a continuous monitoring program for its cloud infrastructure. Which of the following metrics would be MOST useful for detecting unauthorized changes to production systems?

Accepted Answer

Configuration drift from a known good baseline.. Configuration drift from a known good baseline is the most effective metric for detecting unauthorized changes because it directly compares the current state of production systems against a secure, approved baseline (e.g., using tools like AWS Config, Azure Policy, or Chef InSpec). Any deviation—such as altered file permissions, unexpected services, or modified registry keys—triggers an alert, enabling rapid detection of unauthorized modifications. This aligns with continuous monitoring principles in cloud security, focusing on integrity rather than performance or access patterns.

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Network throughput between application tiers.

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Average CPU load across all systems.

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Number of failed login attempts per hour.

Question 3

A security assessor is conducting a penetration test and needs to identify live hosts on a network without causing disruption. Which of the following techniques should the assessor use FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Ping sweep using ICMP echo requests.. A ping sweep using ICMP echo requests (ICMP Type 8) is the most appropriate first step for identifying live hosts on a network because it is a standard, low-disruption method that quickly determines host availability. ICMP echo requests are typically allowed by default on many networks and do not initiate full protocol handshakes or service interactions, minimizing the risk of triggering alarms or causing instability. This aligns with the penetration testing methodology of starting with passive or low-impact reconnaissance before escalating to more intrusive techniques.

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ARP scan to discover hosts on the local subnet.

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Vulnerability scan of all IP addresses in the target range.

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Full TCP port scan on common ports.

Question 4

A security team is planning a social engineering test for their organization. Which of the following scenarios would BEST assess the effectiveness of security awareness training?

Accepted Answer

Sending a phishing email that mimics a common internal communication.. Sending a phishing email that mimics a common internal communication directly tests whether employees can recognize and report a realistic social engineering attempt, which is the primary goal of security awareness training. This scenario evaluates the human firewall by simulating the most prevalent attack vector—email-based phishing—and measures the effectiveness of training in reducing click-through rates and increasing reporting behavior.

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Calling employees and pretending to be IT support to obtain passwords.

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Attempting to tailgate into a secure facility.

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Searching through trash bins for sensitive documents.

Question 5

A financial institution is required to perform regular penetration tests on its online banking platform. The testing must be as realistic as possible while minimizing risk to production data. Which of the following approaches BEST meets these requirements?

Accepted Answer

Build a replica of the production environment and test against it with realistic attack scenarios.. Option D is correct because building a replica (staging) environment allows the penetration test to simulate realistic attack scenarios without any risk to production data or system availability. This approach ensures the test can include destructive or disruptive techniques (e.g., SQL injection, privilege escalation) that would be unsafe on a live system, while still accurately reflecting the production architecture and configurations.

Answer

Conduct the test on the production environment using anonymized production data.

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Use an automated vulnerability scanner on the production environment.

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Perform the test during off-peak hours on the production system with read-only access.

Question 6

A security auditor is reviewing the results of a recently completed internal vulnerability scan. The scan report shows several hosts with the same vulnerability. Which of the following actions should the auditor take FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Manually verify the vulnerability on a sample of affected hosts.. The auditor must first manually verify the vulnerability on a sample of affected hosts because automated vulnerability scans can produce false positives due to factors like incomplete banner grabbing, outdated plugin signatures, or network-level interference. Confirming the finding ensures that subsequent remediation efforts are based on accurate, validated data, preventing wasted resources on non-existent issues.

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Immediately apply patches to all affected hosts.

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Remove the hosts from the network until the vulnerability is resolved.

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Re-run the scan with a different scanner.

Question 7

A company has implemented a new web application firewall (WAF) and wants to test its effectiveness. Which of the following testing methods would provide the MOST accurate assessment?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a penetration test that includes attempts to bypass the WAF.. A penetration test that actively attempts to bypass the WAF provides the most accurate assessment because it simulates a real attacker's behavior, testing the WAF's ability to detect and block evasion techniques such as HTTP parameter pollution, encoding obfuscation, and SQL injection payload splitting. This method validates the WAF's effectiveness under realistic adversarial conditions, revealing gaps that passive or disabled-state testing cannot uncover.

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Perform a vulnerability scan on the web application with the WAF disabled.

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Review the WAF logs for any blocked attacks.

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Run an automated web application scanner against the application with the WAF enabled.

Question 8

Which TWO of the following are key objectives of a security assessment? (Select exactly 2.)

Accepted Answer

Identify vulnerabilities in systems and applications.. A is correct because identifying vulnerabilities is a primary objective of a security assessment, such as a vulnerability scan or penetration test, which systematically discovers weaknesses in systems and applications (e.g., missing patches, misconfigurations, or insecure code). B is correct because assessing the effectiveness of existing security controls (e.g., firewalls, IDS/IPS, access controls) is a core goal, often achieved through control testing or validation to determine if controls are properly implemented and functioning as intended.

Answer

Exploit vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access.

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Prioritize threats based on business impact.

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Implement new security controls to address findings.

Question 9

Which THREE of the following are common methods used in security assessment and testing? (Select exactly 3.)

Accepted Answer

Penetration testing. Penetration testing is a common method in security assessment and testing that simulates real-world attacks to identify exploitable vulnerabilities. Unlike vulnerability scanning, which only identifies potential weaknesses, penetration testing actively exploits them to validate security controls and measure the impact of a breach.

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Risk analysis

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Forensic analysis

Question 10

A security analyst receives the IDS alert shown in the exhibit. The analyst checks the web server logs and finds that the request returned a 200 OK status. Which of the following should the analyst do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Isolate the web server and investigate for data breach.. The IDS alert indicates a SQL injection attempt, and the web server returned a 200 OK status, which means the request was processed successfully. This combination strongly suggests that the injection may have succeeded, potentially leading to a data breach. The correct next step is to isolate the web server and investigate for evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized access, as per incident response procedures.

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Tune the IDS to reduce false positives for SQL injection signatures.

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Delete the alert and continue monitoring.

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Ignore the alert because the IDS is known to produce false positives.