VA-003 Create Vault policies Practice Question
A policy must allow a user to revoke their own token. Which endpoint and capability are required?
⚠ Common exam trap
VA-003 often tests the exact capability required for Vault token endpoints — candidates confuse 'write' with 'update' and pick the wrong endpoint like auth/token/revoke instead of revoke-self.
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
✓
path "auth/token/revoke-self" { capabilities = ["update"] }
To allow a user to revoke their own token, the policy must grant the 'update' capability on the 'auth/token/revoke-self' endpoint. Vault's token revocation for self uses the update capability on that specific path, not write or the general revoke endpoint.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
path "auth/token/revoke" { capabilities = ["update"] }
Why it's wrong here
auth/token/revoke requires a token parameter and revokes an arbitrary token, so a user could revoke others' tokens; Vault's own-token endpoint is auth/token/revoke-self. It tempts because revoke is the general revocation path, correct for administrative policies that must invalidate any token by ID.
- ✗
path "auth/token/revoke-self" { capabilities = ["write"] }
Why it's wrong here
'write' is not a valid capability; use 'update'.
- ✗
path "sys/leases/revoke" { capabilities = ["update"] }
Why it's wrong here
sys/leases/revoke targets leases issued by secret engines, not tokens, so it cannot revoke the caller's token. It tempts because lease revocation is a genuine self-service operation, correct when a user must destroy a dynamic database or PKI credential they hold before its TTL expires.
- ✓
path "auth/token/revoke-self" { capabilities = ["update"] }
Why this is correct
The revoke-self endpoint operates on the caller's own token, identified from the client token supplied with the request. Because it modifies token state rather than reading it, the policy requires the update capability on that exact path, letting users invalidate their own token without broader revoke permissions.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official HashiCorp exam blueprint
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.