VA-003 Compare authentication methods Practice Question
An administrator wants to allow human users to authenticate using their corporate Active Directory credentials. Which authentication method should they enable?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the misconception that 'LDAP auth' is only for Unix/Linux systems, when in fact it is the standard protocol for integrating with Microsoft Active Directory for user authentication.
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 auth
LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) authentication allows integration with corporate Active Directory by binding to the directory service using a user's credentials. This enables centralized authentication against existing AD user objects without duplicating accounts in the Vault system.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Token auth
Why it's wrong here
Token auth is for existing Vault tokens, not external identity.
- ✗
GitHub auth
Why it's wrong here
GitHub auth is for GitHub identities, not AD.
- ✗
Userpass auth
Why it's wrong here
Userpass stores passwords in Vault, not AD.
- ✓
LDAP auth
Why this is correct
LDAP auth directly authenticates against AD.
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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.