CSSLP Exam Simulation — 200 Questions

Question 1

When designing secure software, why is 'Economy of Mechanism' important?

Accepted Answer

To minimize the attack surface by keeping the design simple.. Economy of mechanism suggests that designs should be as simple and small as possible to minimize the attack surface and make security easier to verify.

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To lower the cost of hardware infrastructure.

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To increase the lines of code for better functionality.

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To ensure that the software is faster at runtime.

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To enable easier debugging for developers.

Question 2

Which TWO of the following are essential components for achieving 'Non-repudiation'?

Accepted Answer

Digital signatures. Non-repudiation requires proof of origin (usually via digital signature) and a secure, immutable audit trail.

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Multi-factor authentication.

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Load balancing.

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Strong encryption of data in transit.

Question 3

A security team implements a 'Separation of Duties' policy in the CI/CD pipeline. Which implementation is correct?

Accepted Answer

One developer commits code, and a separate user with deployment permissions triggers the release.. Separation of Duties prevents one person from having enough access to execute a malicious change without oversight.

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The same developer writes, reviews, and deploys the code.

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The QA team is allowed to modify production database records.

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The build server automatically deploys code without human verification.

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All developers have access to the production environment credentials.

Question 4

A developer is performing a threat modeling exercise using STRIDE. What does the 'S' in STRIDE represent?

Accepted Answer

Spoofing. STRIDE stands for Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service, and Elevation of privilege.

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Software integrity

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Service availability

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System hardening

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Secure architecture

Question 5

In an OAuth 2.0 flow, you are using the 'Authorization Code' grant type. You notice an attacker is attempting to intercept the code. Which security concept is being utilized by requiring the client_secret during the token exchange?

Accepted Answer

Authentication. The client_secret provides authentication of the client to the authorization server, ensuring only the intended client can exchange the code.

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Availability

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Non-repudiation

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Confidentiality

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Integrity

Question 6

A developer is configuring a web application to use the principle of least privilege. Which action best aligns with this philosophy?

Accepted Answer

Using a dedicated service account with granular permissions for database access.. Least privilege requires granting only the minimum necessary permissions for a task.

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Granting the application access to all system environment variables.

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Enabling 'Everyone' write access to application configuration files.

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Running the application process as 'root' or 'administrator'.

Question 7

You are using the 'Complete Mediation' principle in your system's access control design. What does this require?

Accepted Answer

Checking authorization for every access request.. Complete mediation requires that every access request to every object must be checked for authorization, with no caching or bypassing allowed.

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Granting permanent access to all authenticated users.

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Checking authorization only at login.

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Relying on the user to request access when needed.

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Caching permissions to reduce latency.

Question 8

When implementing the Biba Integrity Model, which operation is restricted for a subject to maintain the integrity of a higher-level object?

Accepted Answer

Read-down. Biba is the inverse of Bell-LaPadula, focusing on integrity. It prevents 'read-down' to ensure a process doesn't ingest corrupted data from a lower level.

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Read-up

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Write-up

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Execute-down

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Append-down

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of defense-in-depth in a web application architecture?

Accepted Answer

Implementing input validation, parameterized queries, and a Web Application Firewall (WAF).. Defense-in-depth uses multiple layers of security so that if one fails, others compensate.

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Disabling all firewall rules for testing purposes.

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Storing all application data in a single encrypted volume.

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Removing all logs to prevent unauthorized access to audit trails.

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Using a single strong password for all database accounts.

Question 10

Which TWO of the following strategies best implement the principle of 'Separation of Duties' in an application design?

Accepted Answer

Requiring two distinct roles to approve a production code deployment.. Assigning different roles for code deployment and database management prevents one person from having total control.

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Granting developers full access to production database backups.

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Using a single shared admin account for all system functions.

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Allowing a single admin to manage all user accounts.

Question 11

When evaluating a secure design, which TWO of the following practices are considered essential for secure session management?

Accepted Answer

Setting the HttpOnly and Secure flags on session cookies.. Using secure, HTTP-only, and SameSite flags are critical for cookie security, and regenerating session IDs prevents fixation.

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Allowing multiple simultaneous sessions for a single user.

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Using long-lived sessions to improve user experience.

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Storing session tokens in the browser's local storage.

Question 12

Which design activity helps identify security requirements during the earliest phases of the SDLC?

Accepted Answer

Abuse case modeling.. Abuse case modeling explores how an attacker might misuse a feature, which helps define security requirements.

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Penetration testing.

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Incident response planning.

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Static code analysis.

Question 13

When performing threat modeling using the STRIDE model, which TWO of the following threats are mitigated by implementing digital signatures?

Accepted Answer

Repudiation.. Digital signatures provide integrity (detecting tampering) and non-repudiation (proving source).

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Elevation of Privilege.

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Information Disclosure.

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Denial of Service.

Question 14

When designing for auditability, which THREE of the following pieces of information should be captured in security logs?

Accepted Answer

The type of action performed.. Who (user/service), what (action), and result (success/failure) are mandatory for reconstruction.

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The full password of the user involved in the event.

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The user's home address and phone number.

Question 15

When designing an application that relies on external APIs, which THREE of the following are necessary security considerations?

Accepted Answer

Managing API keys using a secure vault.. Validating input, securing transport, and managing API keys are crucial for third-party integrations.

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Only using HTTP for faster communication.

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Hard-coding the API endpoint URLs in the application.

Question 16

Which THREE of the following are key components of a 'Secure Design Review' process?

Accepted Answer

Validating the architecture against established security patterns.. Reviewing security requirements, threat models, and architectural patterns are foundational to design reviews.

Answer

Writing the final deployment documentation.

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Performing dynamic analysis on the final build.

Question 17

In a service-oriented architecture (SOA), which design pattern is most effective for ensuring that messages between services are not tampered with?

Accepted Answer

Digital signatures on the message payload.. Message signing ensures integrity by verifying that the data was not altered after being signed by the sender.

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Logging all messages to a central server.

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Encryption of the message payload.

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Using a private network for all communication.

Question 18

An organization is moving a monolithic application to a microservices architecture. Which security design pattern is most effective for centralizing authentication while decoupling it from individual microservices?

Accepted Answer

API Gateway pattern acting as an identity provider proxy.. The API Gateway pattern centralizes authentication, preventing every microservice from having to implement its own logic.

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Centralized database user management.

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Service Mesh with mutual TLS enabled.

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Sidecar pattern using a local proxy for mTLS.

Question 19

You are applying the Bell-LaPadula model to a secure software system. A user with 'Secret' clearance attempts to write data to a 'Top Secret' file. Based on the *-property, what is the outcome?

Accepted Answer

The write is denied because the *-property prohibits writing to a higher security level.. The *-property (star-property) of Bell-LaPadula prevents 'write-down', meaning a subject cannot write to a lower level, but also enforces no-read-up/no-write-down rules.

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The write is permitted.

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The write is denied due to the no-write-down rule.

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The system allows the write only if encryption is used.

Question 20

During a STRIDE threat modeling session for an API gateway, you identify a risk where an attacker could intercept data in transit. Which design pattern effectively mitigates this?

Accepted Answer

Implement Mutual TLS (mTLS) for all inter-service communications.. TLS is the standard design pattern for ensuring confidentiality and integrity in transit.

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Implement OAuth 2.0 scopes on the API gateway.

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Use a Hardware Security Module (HSM) to store API keys.

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Enable request rate limiting on the gateway.