CPENT Cloud And Hybrid Infrastructure Security Practice Question
A penetration tester is reviewing an Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) tenant and finds that user writeback and device writeback are enabled in Azure AD Connect, but the service account lacks appropriate permissions in on-premises Active Directory. What security risk does misconfigured Azure AD Connect writeback pose?
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
✓
If compromised, cloud-based attackers could potentially manipulate synchronized objects or abuse writeback channels to affect on-premises Active Directory integrity.
Misconfigured writeback permissions or insecure cloud-to-on-premises sync configurations can allow compromised cloud accounts to modify on-premises objects, potentially leading to privilege escalation in the local AD.
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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It automatically grants all Azure AD users Domain Admin privileges on the on-premises domain controllers.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. It does not automatically grant Domain Admin rights.
- ✓
If compromised, cloud-based attackers could potentially manipulate synchronized objects or abuse writeback channels to affect on-premises Active Directory integrity.
Why this is correct
Correct. Improperly secured writeback features can be a vector for attackers to push malicious changes from Azure AD back into the on-premises AD environment.
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It allows cloud-only users to bypass conditional access policies by syncing fake device objects.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Device writeback writes objects back to local AD, not bypassing conditional access.
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It exposes the Azure AD global administrator password in plaintext via the Active Directory Recycle Bin.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Passwords are never stored in plaintext in the recycle bin.
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.