CPENT Cloud And Hybrid Infrastructure Security Practice Question
During an AWS penetration test, the tester finds an Amazon API Gateway REST API configured with an AWS_IAM authorizer, but one specific method is mistakenly set to 'Authorization: None' (Open API method). What security risk does this introduce?
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
✓
Unauthenticated clients can invoke the specific API method directly, bypassing the intended AWS IAM signature authentication.
Setting an API Gateway method to Authorization: None bypasses IAM authentication for that specific endpoint, allowing unauthenticated execution of the backend Lambda or HTTP integration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS WAF will automatically block all traffic to the API Gateway.
Why it's wrong here
WAF requires explicit rule configuration to block traffic.
- ✗
CloudFront distribution logs will fail to record incoming requests.
Why it's wrong here
Logging is independent of API authorizer configuration.
- ✗
The API Gateway becomes vulnerable to SQL injection attacks against its internal DynamoDB storage.
Why it's wrong here
API Gateway does not have internal DynamoDB storage by default.
- ✓
Unauthenticated clients can invoke the specific API method directly, bypassing the intended AWS IAM signature authentication.
Why this is correct
Removing authorizers exposes individual API methods to unauthenticated callers.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
About these practice questions
This CPENT question is part of Courseiva's 274-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 EC-Council exam blueprint
This CPENT practice question is part of Courseiva's free EC-Council 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 CPENT exam.