- A
Avoid the risk by shutting down the finance application immediately.
Why wrong: Avoiding the risk would remove exposure, but it would also stop a critical business service that cannot be taken offline for six months.
- B
Mitigate the risk by adding compensating controls and tracking residual risk until the patch is available.
This approach reduces the likelihood or impact of exploitation while keeping the business service running. Compensating controls such as increased monitoring, segmentation, additional access restrictions, and temporary workarounds are appropriate when a patch is unavailable. The organization can then document the remaining risk, assign an owner, and revisit the issue when the vendor releases the fix.
- C
Transfer the risk by asking the vendor to guarantee that no incident will occur.
Why wrong: A guarantee is not a realistic risk treatment, and responsibility cannot simply be shifted away without contractual or technical controls.
- D
Accept the risk because any delay in patching is automatically low priority.
Why wrong: Risk acceptance is only appropriate when the residual risk is within tolerance and formally approved. This situation still has meaningful exposure.
SY0-701 Security Program Management and Oversight Practice Question
This SY0-701 practice question tests your understanding of security program management and oversight. 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.
A finance application has a known vulnerability in a third-party reporting component. The vendor says a patch will not be available for six months, but the business cannot stop using the application. What is the BEST risk treatment for the organization to pursue next?
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 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
Mitigate the risk by adding compensating controls and tracking residual risk until the patch is available.
Option B is correct because when a known vulnerability exists in a third-party component and patching is delayed, the best risk treatment is to implement compensating controls (such as network segmentation, WAF rules, or input validation) to reduce the likelihood or impact of exploitation. This approach allows the business to continue operations while actively tracking residual risk until the vendor releases the patch. It aligns with the NIST risk management framework, which prioritizes mitigation when avoidance is not feasible.
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.
- ✗
Avoid the risk by shutting down the finance application immediately.
Why it's wrong here
Avoiding the risk would remove exposure, but it would also stop a critical business service that cannot be taken offline for six months.
- ✓
Mitigate the risk by adding compensating controls and tracking residual risk until the patch is available.
Why this is correct
This approach reduces the likelihood or impact of exploitation while keeping the business service running. Compensating controls such as increased monitoring, segmentation, additional access restrictions, and temporary workarounds are appropriate when a patch is unavailable. The organization can then document the remaining risk, assign an owner, and revisit the issue when the vendor releases the fix.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Transfer the risk by asking the vendor to guarantee that no incident will occur.
Why it's wrong here
A guarantee is not a realistic risk treatment, and responsibility cannot simply be shifted away without contractual or technical controls.
- ✗
Accept the risk because any delay in patching is automatically low priority.
Why it's wrong here
Risk acceptance is only appropriate when the residual risk is within tolerance and formally approved. This situation still has meaningful exposure.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'accepting risk' with 'doing nothing,' but in CompTIA's framework, risk acceptance requires a formal decision by management after evaluating the risk level, not an automatic deferral due to a delayed patch.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Risk acceptance is only appropriate when the residual risk is within tolerance and formally approved. This situation still has meaningful exposure.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Compensating controls for a vulnerable reporting component might include deploying a web application firewall (WAF) with custom rules to block exploit payloads, restricting network access to the component via ACLs, or enabling application-level logging and monitoring for anomalous behavior. Residual risk is the remaining risk after controls are applied, and it must be formally tracked and reviewed—often through a risk register—until the patch is deployed. In real-world scenarios, organizations might also implement virtual patching via an intrusion prevention system (IPS) to shield the vulnerability without modifying the application code.
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 security team runs a vulnerability scan on a web application and discovers an unpatched SQL injection flaw. The team prioritises remediation by CVSS score — critical flaws are patched within 24 hours, high within 7 days. Questions like this test whether you understand vulnerability management processes, scanning tools, and remediation prioritisation.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SY0-701 question test?
Security Program Management and Oversight — This question tests Security Program Management and Oversight — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Mitigate the risk by adding compensating controls and tracking residual risk until the patch is available. — Option B is correct because when a known vulnerability exists in a third-party component and patching is delayed, the best risk treatment is to implement compensating controls (such as network segmentation, WAF rules, or input validation) to reduce the likelihood or impact of exploitation. This approach allows the business to continue operations while actively tracking residual risk until the vendor releases the patch. It aligns with the NIST risk management framework, which prioritizes mitigation when avoidance is not feasible.
What should I do if I get this SY0-701 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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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