The correct answer is privilege creep. This condition arises when an employee accumulates access rights over time, such as moving between departments under role-based access control (RBAC) without the removal of prior permissions, often due to overlapping role memberships that are not revoked. On the Certified Information Systems Auditor CISA exam, this concept tests your understanding of access control maintenance and the principle of least privilege, frequently appearing in scenario-based questions about user provisioning and deprovisioning. A common trap is confusing privilege creep with segregation of duties conflicts, but the key distinction is that creep focuses on excessive entitlements from role changes, not incompatible duties. To remember it, think of “creep” as permissions that slowly “crawl” forward with each role change, never being cleaned up.
CISA Protection of Information Assets Practice Question
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of protection of information assets. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company uses role-based access control (RBAC). An employee moves from one department to another but retains some previous access due to overlapping role permissions. This condition is known as:
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Privilege creep
Privilege creep occurs when an employee accumulates access rights over time, often due to role changes or lateral moves, without corresponding removal of previous permissions. In RBAC, overlapping role permissions can cause this condition when old role memberships are not revoked, leading to excessive entitlements that violate the principle of least privilege.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Access aggregation
Why it's wrong here
Access aggregation is not a standard term; privilege creep is more specific.
✓
Privilege creep
Why this is correct
Privilege creep is the gradual accumulation of access rights beyond what is needed, often due to role changes.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Segregation of duties conflict
Why it's wrong here
Segregation of duties conflict occurs when a single user has conflicting roles, not accumulated access.
✗
Entitlement explosion
Why it's wrong here
Entitlement explosion is not a standard CISA term for this scenario.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing privilege creep with access aggregation, as both involve excessive permissions, but privilege creep specifically results from role changes over time rather than combining separate low-level privileges into a high-risk action.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
Entitlement explosion is not a standard CISA term for this scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In RBAC implementations (e.g., NIST SP 800-53 or ANSI INCITS 359), privilege creep is often mitigated through periodic access recertification campaigns and automated role lifecycle management. A real-world scenario is when a user is added to a new Active Directory security group for a new department but is not removed from the old group, resulting in cumulative permissions that may grant unintended access to sensitive resources like financial systems or HR databases.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A junior network technician can log in to a core router but cannot reach the enable prompt or configuration mode. The AAA server is authenticating the login — but the authorisation policy only grants privilege level 1, not 15. Authentication (who you are) is working; authorisation (what you can do) is not.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Protection of Information Assets — This question tests Protection of Information Assets — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Privilege creep — Privilege creep occurs when an employee accumulates access rights over time, often due to role changes or lateral moves, without corresponding removal of previous permissions. In RBAC, overlapping role permissions can cause this condition when old role memberships are not revoked, leading to excessive entitlements that violate the principle of least privilege.
What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. An organization uses role-based access control (RBAC) for its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. What is the greatest risk if user role assignments are not reviewed regularly?
medium
A.Inconsistent application of password policies across roles.
✓ B.Privilege creep, where users retain permissions no longer needed.
C.Increased authentication failures due to expired passwords.
D.Inability to track audit logs for user activity.
Why B: In RBAC, permissions are assigned to roles, and users inherit those permissions through role membership. Without regular reviews, users may retain roles (and thus permissions) long after their job functions change, leading to privilege creep. This violates the principle of least privilege and increases the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches within the ERP system.
Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CISA exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.