KCSA Platform Security Practice Question
An enterprise cluster utilizes a service mesh with AuthorizationPolicies. You need to configure a policy that allows GET requests from service A to service B while explicitly denying DELETE requests on all paths. How are Istio AuthorizationPolicies evaluated when both allow and deny rules are present?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
DENY rules take precedence and are evaluated before ALLOW rules
Istio AuthorizationPolicies evaluate DENY rules first, followed by ALLOW rules. If a request matches a DENY rule, it is immediately rejected regardless of any matching ALLOW rules.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Only the most recently created authorization policy is evaluated
Why it's wrong here
All matching policies are evaluated based on their defined action types and precedence, not creation timestamp.
- ✓
DENY rules take precedence and are evaluated before ALLOW rules
Why this is correct
Istio evaluates DENY rules before ALLOW rules to ensure strict security guardrails take effect immediately.
- ✗
ALLOW rules take precedence and override any DENY rules
Why it's wrong here
Allow rules never override explicit deny rules in Istio authorization policy evaluations.
- ✗
Rules are evaluated in alphabetical order of their object names
Why it's wrong here
Istio evaluation follows a strict precedence order (DENY then ALLOW), not alphabetical name sorting.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official CNCF / Linux Foundation exam blueprint
This KCSA practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF / Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the KCSA exam.