VA-003 Compare and configure secrets engines Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are capabilities of the PKI secrets engine? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the distinction between 'automatic rotation' and 'manual revocation' in PKI secrets engines, leading candidates to incorrectly assume that rotation is a built-in capability when it actually requires external orchestration.
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
✓
Revoke certificates
The PKI secrets engine in Vault supports certificate revocation via Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) or by directly marking a certificate as revoked in its storage backend. This is a core PKI lifecycle management capability, allowing operators to invalidate compromised or expired certificates immediately.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Automatically rotate certificates
Why it's wrong here
No built-in rotation; external automation is needed.
- ✗
Generate one-time pads
Why it's wrong here
One-time pads are not part of PKI.
- ✓
Revoke certificates
Why this is correct
Revocation is a standard PKI operation.
- ✓
Generate self-signed root certificates
Why this is correct
PKI can generate root CAs.
- ✓
Create intermediate CA certificates
Why this is correct
Intermediates are a core feature of PKI.
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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.