200-901 Software Development and Design Practice Question
This 200-901 practice question tests your understanding of software development and design. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
In a CI/CD pipeline, a code quality check fails due to a security vulnerability in a third-party library. What is the best practice to address this?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Update the library to a patched version
Updating the library to a patched version directly resolves the security vulnerability at its source, aligning with the principle of supply chain security in CI/CD pipelines. This practice ensures that the codebase uses a version of the dependency that has been officially fixed by the maintainer, preventing exploitation without altering the application's functionality or introducing unnecessary risk.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Suppress the warning and proceed
Why it's wrong here
Suppressing the warning leaves the vulnerability unaddressed, which is a security risk.
✓
Update the library to a patched version
Why this is correct
Updating to the latest patched version resolves the vulnerability and maintains compatibility.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Add a firewall rule to block the vulnerability
Why it's wrong here
Firewall rules do not fix the code vulnerability; they only provide network-level mitigation.
✗
Remove the dependency and rewrite the code
Why it's wrong here
Removing the dependency may be too drastic and time-consuming; patching is preferred if available.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the misconception that security vulnerabilities can be mitigated with network controls (like firewalls) or by ignoring the issue, rather than addressing the root cause through dependency updates.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In a CI/CD pipeline, dependency scanning tools (e.g., OWASP Dependency-Check, Snyk) compare library versions against known CVE databases. Updating to a patched version often involves modifying the package manager manifest (e.g., package.json for npm, requirements.txt for pip) and re-running the pipeline to verify the fix. A real-world scenario is the Log4j vulnerability (CVE-2021-44228), where the best practice was to update to Log4j 2.17.0, not to suppress warnings or add firewall rules.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Software Development and Design — This question tests Software Development and Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Update the library to a patched version — Updating the library to a patched version directly resolves the security vulnerability at its source, aligning with the principle of supply chain security in CI/CD pipelines. This practice ensures that the codebase uses a version of the dependency that has been officially fixed by the maintainer, preventing exploitation without altering the application's functionality or introducing unnecessary risk.
What should I do if I get this 200-901 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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