VA-003 Compare authentication methods Practice Question
A Vault administrator wants to allow users to authenticate using their corporate Active Directory credentials. Which authentication method should they enable?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the misconception that any external identity provider (like Okta) is the default choice for AD integration, but the question specifically asks for the authentication method that directly uses corporate Active Directory credentials, which is LDAP.
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
✓
LDAP
LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is the correct choice because it enables Vault to authenticate users against an external corporate Active Directory (AD) server. Vault's LDAP auth method binds to the AD directory using a service account, then validates user credentials via a simple bind operation, allowing seamless integration with existing corporate identity infrastructure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Okta
Why it's wrong here
Okta is a separate identity provider.
- ✗
AppRole
Why it's wrong here
AppRole is for machine-to-machine authentication.
- ✗
Userpass
Why it's wrong here
Userpass is for local Vault users, not AD.
- ✓
LDAP
Why this is correct
LDAP can connect to Active Directory.
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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.