VA-003 Manage Vault leases Practice Question
Which TWO of the following actions can reduce the number of active leases in Vault? (Select two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
HashiCorp often tests the misconception that increasing TTL values or renewing leases reduces active leases, but both actions actually prolong lease lifetimes and can increase the active count if new leases are created concurrently.
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
✓
Reducing the default lease TTL
Option A is correct because reducing the default lease TTL shortens the lifetime of newly issued leases, so they expire and are revoked sooner, decreasing the count of active leases at any given time. Option B is correct because revoking a lease explicitly invalidates it, immediately removing it from the set of active leases tracked by Vault. Option C is incorrect because creating a new lease adds another active lease rather than reducing the count. Option D is incorrect because increasing the max lease TTL allows leases to live longer, which tends to keep more leases active. Option E is incorrect because renewing a lease extends its lifetime, keeping it active instead of reducing the number of active leases.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Reducing the default lease TTL
Why this is correct
Leases expire when their TTL elapses, so lowering the default lease TTL causes leases to be revoked sooner and reduces how many remain active at any moment. This directly decreases the count of outstanding leases Vault must track.
- ✓
Revoking a lease
Why this is correct
Revoking a lease immediately invalidates it and removes it from Vault's active lease set, rather than waiting for TTL expiry. This directly decreases the number of active leases, satisfying the stem's requirement to reduce them.
- ✗
Creating a new lease
Why it's wrong here
Creating a new lease adds an active lease, directly increasing the count rather than reducing it. It is tempting because lease creation is the normal Vault workflow, and in a scenario where a client legitimately needs credentials, issuing a new lease would be the correct action — but here the goal is the opposite.
- ✗
Increasing the max lease TTL
Why it's wrong here
Raising max lease TTL lets leases live longer, so fewer expire and the active count grows. It is tempting because the setting governs lease duration, and would be the right choice when clients need longer-lived credentials and frequent re-authentication is undesirable.
- ✗
Renewing a lease
Why it's wrong here
Renewing extends an existing lease's lifetime, keeping it active rather than reducing the count. It is tempting because renewal is a routine lease-management action, and would be correct when a workload still needs the same secret beyond its current TTL without creating a new lease.
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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.