VA-003 Assess Vault tokens Practice Question
A Vault cluster has a token with the following policy: path "secret/data/dev/*" { capabilities = ["read", "list"] }. The token is used to read a secret at "secret/data/dev/password". The read succeeds. Later, the token tries to read "secret/data/prod/password". What happens?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common misconception is that a token with read capability on one path can read any secret, but Vault's policy model requires explicit path matching for each access attempt.
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
✓
Fails because the token needs an explicit policy for "secret/data/prod/".
Vault policies are path-based and deny by default. The token's policy only grants 'read' and 'list' capabilities on paths matching 'secret/data/dev/*', so any attempt to access 'secret/data/prod/password' is not covered by that policy. Without an explicit policy allowing access to the 'prod' path, the request is denied by Vault's default deny behavior.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Fails with a system error.
Why it's wrong here
Vault returns a permission denied error for paths outside the policy, not a system error, so the described failure mode is wrong. It is tempting because denial is expected, and a system error would be correct if Vault itself were misconfigured or unavailable.
- ✗
Succeeds because token has read capability on all secrets.
Why it's wrong here
Vault policies match paths exactly or by prefix wildcard; "secret/data/dev/*" does not cover "secret/data/prod/password", so the read is denied with a permission error. It is tempting because a read capability feels global, and it would be correct if the policy path were "secret/data/*".
- ✗
Succeeds because the token can list and read any path.
Why it's wrong here
The list capability applies only within the "secret/data/dev/*" path, granting no authority over prod paths, so the request is denied. It is tempting because list and read together suggest broad access, and it would be correct if the policy path spanned both dev and prod.
- ✓
Fails because the token needs an explicit policy for "secret/data/prod/".
Why this is correct
Vault policies are deny by default, so the token's capabilities apply only to paths matching `secret/data/dev/*`. Reading `secret/data/prod/password` falls outside that glob, and no other policy grants access, so the request is denied. The stem's constraint — a single dev-scoped policy — makes the prod read fail.
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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.