VA-003 Compare and configure secrets engines Practice Question
An operator needs to enable the KV v2 secrets engine at the path 'team-alpha'. Which command should they run?
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the distinction between `kv` (v1) and `kv-v2` (v2) engines, and the requirement to use the `-path` flag for custom mount points, causing candidates to confuse the engine type or omit the flag.
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
✓
vault secrets enable -path=team-alpha kv-v2
The `vault secrets enable` command with the `-path` flag specifies the mount path as 'team-alpha', and `kv-v2` is the correct engine type for the KV v2 secrets engine. This command mounts the KV v2 engine at the desired path, enabling versioned key-value storage.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
vault secrets enable -path=team-alpha kv-v2
Why this is correct
The -path flag sets the mount point while kv-v2 selects the versioned key-value engine, enabling it at team-alpha. This satisfies the scenario by mounting KV v2 at the exact requested path rather than the default secret/ location.
- ✗
vault secrets enable kv-v2 team-alpha
Why it's wrong here
This omits the '-path=' flag, so Vault treats 'team-alpha' as a trailing argument rather than the mount path, and 'kv-v2' is not a valid engine type name. It is tempting because it reads naturally as enable-then-name, and would work if the engine type and path were positional.
- ✗
vault secrets enable -path=team-alpha kv
Why it's wrong here
This enables the KV version 1 engine, not v2, so versioned secrets and metadata are unavailable at 'team-alpha'. It is tempting because 'kv' is the familiar engine name and the path syntax is correct, and it would be right if v2 features were not required.
- ✗
vault secrets mount -path=team-alpha kv
Why it's wrong here
Vault's CLI has no 'secrets mount' subcommand, so this fails outright; the correct verb is 'enable'. It is tempting because 'mount' reflects the underlying API terminology for attaching a secrets engine, and would be right if Vault exposed mounting as a distinct CLI operation.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This VA-003 question is part of Courseiva's 366-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.