VA-003 Compare and configure secrets engines Practice Question
Which THREE of the following are true about the KV v2 secrets engine? (Select exactly 3.)
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the misconception that KV v2 cannot delete or undo changes, when in fact it supports soft delete, destroy, and version rollback, and the trap is that candidates confuse KV v2 with the older KV v1 engine which lacks versioning and CAS.
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
✓
It supports check-and-set operations for concurrent updates.
Option B is correct because the KV v2 secrets engine supports check-and-set (CAS) operations: when writing a secret you can supply the cas parameter with the expected current version, and the write fails if the version has changed, preventing lost updates during concurrent modifications. Option D is correct because KV v2 stores rich metadata for each secret version, including fields such as created_time, deletion_time, destroyed, and version, retrievable via the metadata endpoint (e.g., GET secret/metadata/<path>). Option E is correct because KV v2's defining feature is versioning: each write creates a new numbered version, allowing retrieval of specific versions and configuration of max_versions. Option A is wrong because KV v2 does support deletion, including soft deletion (delete) and permanent destruction (destroy) of specific versions. Option C is wrong because KV v2 supports undoing changes through versioning: you can read an earlier version and write it back, or use the undelete operation to restore a soft-deleted version.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
It does not support deletion of secrets.
Why it's wrong here
KV v2 supports soft deletion via delete, plus metadata destruction and versioning, so the claim is false. It tempts candidates who recall that KV v1 lacks versioning and deletion safeguards, but v2's whole purpose is recoverable deletes and version history.
- ✓
It supports check-and-set operations for concurrent updates.
Why this is correct
KV v2 implements check-and-set semantics: writes supply a version number, and Vault rejects the write if the stored version differs, preventing lost updates. This satisfies the concurrency requirement by detecting conflicting concurrent modifications rather than silently overwriting them.
- ✗
It does not support undoing changes.
Why it's wrong here
KV v2 supports versioning, including soft deletion and the ability to undelete or destroy specific versions, so undoing changes is possible. It is tempting because KV v1 lacks versioning, but v2 explicitly adds rollback and version control capabilities.
- ✓
It supports metadata like created_time and deletion_time.
Why this is correct
KV v2 stores per-version metadata including created_time and deletion_time, alongside custom metadata and version numbers. This satisfies the requirement by allowing administrators to audit when each secret version was written or soft-deleted without reading the secret data itself.
- ✓
It supports versioning of secrets.
Why this is correct
KV v2 retains multiple versions of each secret, allowing retrieval of previous values and rollback after accidental overwrites or deletions. This satisfies the versioning requirement, distinguishing it from KV v1, which stores only the latest value with no history.
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.