hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CISA Practice Question: Refer to the exhibit
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```
<iam-policy>
<role name="data_analyst">
<permission>READ_ONLY</permission>
<resource pattern="^projects/prod/datasets/.*/tables/sales_.*$">ALLOW</resource>
</role>
<role name="data_scientist">
<permission>READ_WRITE</permission>
<resource pattern="^projects/prod/datasets/.*/tables/sales_.*$">ALLOW</resource>
</role>
<user name="jdoe@company.com">
<role>data_analyst</role>
</user>
<user name="asmith@company.com">
<role>data_scientist</role>
</user>
</iam-policy>
```Refer to the exhibit. An IS auditor is reviewing an IAM policy for a cloud data platform. The auditor notices that user jdoe has READ_ONLY access to all tables matching 'sales_', but asmith has READ_WRITE access to the same set of tables. Which of the following is the MOST critical control issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISACA often tests the misconception that direct user assignment or role overlap is the primary issue, when in fact the overly broad resource pattern is the most critical control weakness.
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
✓
The resource pattern '.*' in the regex could grant access to unintended tables
The regex pattern '.*' in the resource block is overly permissive and could match unintended tables beyond the intended 'sales_' prefix. In AWS IAM policies, the resource element uses regex-like patterns, and '.*' after 'sales_' would match any characters, including tables like 'sales_archive_private' or 'sales_2024_sensitive', potentially exposing sensitive data. This violates the principle of least privilege and is a critical control issue.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Users should not be directly assigned roles; use groups
Why it's wrong here
Direct assignment is acceptable; not a critical issue.
- ✗
The roles data_analyst and data_scientist have overlapping permissions
Why it's wrong here
Different permissions levels are intended; overlap is not a problem.
- ✗
User jdoe should not have access to the sales_ tables
Why it's wrong here
The policy intends jdoe to have read-only access; that's fine.
- ✓
The resource pattern '.*' in the regex could grant access to unintended tables
Why this is correct
The pattern '.*' after 'sales_' matches any suffix, but the preceding '.*' in the dataset pattern is overly broad.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.