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CAS-004 Practice Question: The compliance officer for a financial…
You are the compliance officer for a financial institution that must adhere to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). During a quarterly vulnerability scan, you discover that several critical vulnerabilities in the cardholder data environment (CDE) were not remediated within the required 30-day window. Additionally, the most recent penetration test report shows that a segmentation control between the CDE and the corporate network is not functioning as intended. The next PCI DSS assessment is in two months. Which of the following remediation actions should be prioritized FIRST to maintain compliance?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often prioritize patching critical vulnerabilities (Option B) because it seems urgent, but they overlook that a segmentation failure is a scope-breaking issue that must be resolved first to keep the CDE boundary intact. This question tests understanding of PCI DSS scope and the priority of remediating segmentation failures over individual vulnerabilities.
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
✓
Re-establish correct segmentation between CDE and corporate network
The segmentation control failure is the most critical issue because it directly undermines the scope of the PCI DSS assessment. If the CDE is not properly isolated from the corporate network, the entire corporate network could be considered in-scope for PCI DSS, drastically increasing compliance requirements. Re-establishing correct segmentation first restores the intended security boundary and reduces the risk of a non-compliant assessment in two months.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Implement a compensating control for the segmentation failure and document it
Why it's wrong here
A compensating control only satisfies a requirement when it meets the original intent and is validated; here the segmentation itself is broken, so the CDE remains connected to the corporate network and scope is unchanged. It is tempting because compensating controls are legitimate under PCI DSS, which is correct when the primary control cannot be implemented.
- ✗
Immediately patch all critical vulnerabilities in the CDE
Why it's wrong here
Patching the critical vulnerabilities addresses the overdue 30-day remediation, yet leaves the broken CDE segmentation control unresolved, and that control determines the assessment scope. It is tempting because patching critical findings is normally the fastest compliance win, which is correct when no scope-defining control has failed.
- ✗
Request an extension from the acquirer for the next assessment
Why it's wrong here
Requesting an acquirer extension defers the assessment date but does not remediate the failed segmentation control or the overdue critical vulnerabilities, so the compliance gap persists. It is tempting because acquirers can grant limited extensions, which is correct when remediation is genuinely underway and the deadline alone is the obstacle.
- ✓
Re-establish correct segmentation between CDE and corporate network
Why this is correct
The failed segmentation control means the corporate network can reach the cardholder data environment, so cardholder data is exposed to systems outside PCI DSS scope. Restoring that boundary first re-establishes the scope-defining control the assessor will test, whereas patching overdue vulnerabilities leaves the CDE still reachable.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CAS-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CAS-005 exam.