CAS-004 Security Engineering Practice Question
A security team wants to implement a certificate pinning strategy for their mobile application to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. Which of the following should be pinned in the application code?
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
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The server's public key
Certificate pinning involves pinning the public key of the server's certificate or the certificate itself. Pinning the public key allows for certificate renewal without updating the app.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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The server's public key
Why this is correct
Pinning the public key ensures that only the specific server key is trusted, even if the certificate changes.
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The intermediate CA certificate
Why it's wrong here
Pinning an intermediate CA would trust any certificate from that CA, not a specific server.
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The server's IP address
Why it's wrong here
IP addresses are not part of the certificate and can change.
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The root CA certificate
Why it's wrong here
Pinning the root CA would trust any certificate issued by that CA, which defeats the purpose.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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