KCNA Cloud Native Application Delivery Practice Question
This KCNA practice question tests your understanding of cloud native application delivery. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.
Which THREE of the following practices are essential for a secure cloud native CI/CD pipeline?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Sign container images and verify signatures during deployment
Signing container images (e.g., using Cosign or Notary) and verifying those signatures during deployment ensures that only trusted, unmodified images are deployed, preventing supply chain attacks. This practice enforces image integrity and provenance, which is a core security requirement for cloud native CI/CD pipelines.
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.
✓
Sign container images and verify signatures during deployment
Why this is correct
Ensures image integrity and authenticity.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Store secrets in plain text in the pipeline configuration
Why it's wrong here
Secrets must be encrypted or stored in a secret manager.
✗
Use a single long-lived service account for all pipeline steps
Why it's wrong here
Violates least privilege; each step should have scoped credentials.
✓
Scan container images for vulnerabilities before deployment
Why this is correct
Identifies known CVEs in images.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Apply least-privilege IAM roles to pipeline components
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
CNCF often tests the misconception that storing secrets in plain text is acceptable if the pipeline is 'internal' or 'trusted,' but the KCNA exam emphasizes that secrets must never be stored in plain text in any CI/CD configuration.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Container image signing typically uses cryptographic key pairs (e.g., with Sigstore/Cosign) to generate signatures stored in an OCI-compliant registry alongside the image. During deployment, a policy engine like Kyverno or OPA Gatekeeper can enforce signature verification before allowing the image to run, blocking unsigned or tampered images. In a real-world scenario, a compromised build server could inject malicious code into an unsigned image, but signature verification would catch the mismatch and prevent deployment.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this KCNA question in full detail.
Cloud Native Application Delivery — This question tests Cloud Native Application Delivery — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Sign container images and verify signatures during deployment — Signing container images (e.g., using Cosign or Notary) and verifying those signatures during deployment ensures that only trusted, unmodified images are deployed, preventing supply chain attacks. This practice enforces image integrity and provenance, which is a core security requirement for cloud native CI/CD pipelines.
What should I do if I get this KCNA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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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