VA-003 Assess Vault tokens Practice Question
A security analyst discovers that a token used by a legacy application is still active long after the application was decommissioned. Which Vault feature should have been used to automatically expire tokens when the application is no longer running?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse token renewal (which extends lifetime) with TTL-based expiration, or they assume manual revocation is sufficient for automated lifecycle management, missing the need for automatic expiry via TTL.
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
✓
Set a TTL on the token
Setting a Time-To-Live (TTL) on the token ensures it automatically expires after a specified duration, even if the application is decommissioned. This prevents orphaned tokens from remaining active indefinitely, which is a security risk. Vault's TTL mechanism is designed to enforce token lifetime limits without requiring manual intervention.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable token renewal to keep it alive
Why it's wrong here
Renewal keeps the token alive, not expire.
- ✗
Use a periodic token and revoke it manually
Why it's wrong here
Manual revocation is not automatic.
- ✓
Set a TTL on the token
Why this is correct
TTL ensures the token expires automatically.
- ✗
Use a batch token to limit its lifetime
Why it's wrong here
Batch tokens have a TTL but are not automatically revoked after decommission.
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JA
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.