VA-003 Create Vault policies Practice Question
A developer has a policy that grants 'create' capability on path 'secret/data/team/*'. They successfully create a new secret using 'vault kv put secret/data/team/db', but when they try to update the same secret with new data, they get a permission denied error. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common misconception in Vault is that 'kv put' is a single operation, when in fact Vault treats the first write as 'create' and subsequent writes as 'update', requiring separate capabilities in the policy.
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
✓
The policy does not include the 'update' capability, which is required for modifying existing secrets.
In Vault, the 'kv put' command performs a 'create' operation when the secret does not exist, but an 'update' operation when it does. The policy only grants 'create' capability on 'secret/data/team/*', which allows the initial write but not subsequent modifications. To update an existing secret, the policy must also include the 'update' capability on the same path, as Vault's ACL system enforces separate capabilities for creating and updating secrets.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The developer does not have the 'create' capability on the parent path.
Why it's wrong here
They have 'create' and already succeeded in creating.
- ✓
The policy does not include the 'update' capability, which is required for modifying existing secrets.
Why this is correct
KV v2 requires separate 'update' capability for modifications.
- ✗
The policy needs the 'list' capability on the path.
Why it's wrong here
Listing is unrelated to updating a specific secret.
- ✗
The developer's token lacks the 'sudo' capability for updates.
Why it's wrong here
Sudo is not a capability used in standard operations.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This VA-003 practice question is part of Courseiva's free HashiCorp 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 VA-003 exam.