VA-003 Transit secrets engine Practice Question
A team has set up automatic key rotation on a transit key. After rotation, encrypted data that was encrypted with the previous key version can no longer be decrypted. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Vault often tests the distinction between `min_encryption_version` and `min_decryption_version` in the transit engine, trapping candidates who confuse the two or assume that key rotation automatically invalidates old decryption capabilities.
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 key's min_decryption_version is set too high
The `min_decryption_version` setting on a transit key in Vault's transit secrets engine controls the minimum key version that can be used to decrypt ciphertext. If this value is set too high (e.g., to the current version), older key versions are effectively disabled for decryption, causing any data encrypted with a previous key version to become undecryptable. This is a common misconfiguration when automating key rotation without properly managing version policies in Vault.
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 key was deleted
Why it's wrong here
If the key is deleted, decryption would fail entirely, but rotation typically does not delete old versions.
- ✓
The key's min_decryption_version is set too high
Why this is correct
Setting min_decryption_version above the previous key version's number causes the transit engine to refuse decryption with older versions. Vault retains old versions but enforces this floor, so raising it past the version that encrypted the data blocks access, matching the stem's post-rotation decryption failure.
- ✗
The key's min_encryption_version is set too high
Why it's wrong here
Setting min_encryption_version too high blocks new encrypt operations from using older versions, but it does not stop decryption of ciphertext already wrapped by those versions. It is the right control when enforcing that only recent versions encrypt data going forward.
- ✗
The team used the 'rewrap' operation incorrectly
Why it's wrong here
Rewrap re-wraps an existing data encryption key under a new key version without exposing plaintext; misusing it corrupts individual wrapped blobs, not all data encrypted under the previous version. Rewrap is correct when rotating the wrapping key for stored ciphertext.
- ✗
The key is not exportable
Why it's wrong here
Exportable is unrelated to decryption capability; it controls key extraction.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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