The best course of action is to schedule the patch during the next maintenance window. This approach directly balances the need to patch a critical IdM vulnerability with a low risk appetite, as it addresses the privilege escalation flaw in a controlled, planned manner while avoiding the unacceptable operational disruption of a 4-hour downtime during business hours. On the CRISC exam, this scenario tests your ability to apply risk treatment decisions under constraints—specifically, that a low risk appetite demands timely remediation, but not at the cost of critical system availability. A common trap is choosing immediate patching, which violates business continuity requirements, or indefinite delay, which ignores the low risk appetite. Remember the memory tip: “Plan the patch, don’t panic the patch”—a scheduled maintenance window is the sweet spot between security and uptime.
CRISC IT Risk Identification Practice Question
This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of it risk identification. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 multinational corporation uses a common identity management system (IdM) across all subsidiaries. During a risk assessment, it is discovered that the IdM system has a critical vulnerability that could allow privilege escalation. The patch requires a 4-hour downtime. The risk manager must decide the best course of action considering the organization's risk appetite of 'low' and the fact that the IdM system is critical for business operations. Which of the following is the BEST approach?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Schedule the patch during the next maintenance window.
Option B is correct because scheduling the patch during the next maintenance window aligns with the organization's low risk appetite by addressing the critical vulnerability in a controlled manner, while minimizing operational disruption. The IdM system is critical for business operations, so applying the patch immediately during business hours (Option C) would cause unacceptable downtime, and delaying indefinitely (Option D) would violate the low risk appetite. A 4-hour downtime is typical for identity management systems like Active Directory or LDAP, where patching requires a reboot or service restart, and a planned maintenance window allows for proper testing and rollback procedures.
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.
✗
Implement a compensating control and delay patching.
Why it's wrong here
Compensating controls may reduce risk but patching is still required; delaying could extend exposure.
✓
Schedule the patch during the next maintenance window.
Why this is correct
This minimizes disruption while addressing the vulnerability in a timely manner.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Apply the patch immediately during business hours.
Why it's wrong here
This would cause unacceptable downtime.
✗
Accept the risk and postpone patching indefinitely.
Why it's wrong here
Accepting a critical vulnerability contradicts low risk appetite.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may choose Option C (immediate patching) thinking it is the most secure response, but they overlook the criticality of the IdM system and the unacceptable operational impact of a 4-hour downtime during business hours, which violates the organization's low risk appetite by prioritizing security over business continuity.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In identity management systems like Microsoft Active Directory or OpenLDAP, privilege escalation vulnerabilities often stem from improper ACL handling or LDAP injection flaws (e.g., CVE-2021-42287/CVE-2021-42278 in Active Directory). Patching such systems typically requires a reboot or service restart, causing a 4-hour downtime due to replication convergence and cache invalidation across domain controllers. A maintenance window ensures that the patch is applied during low-usage periods, allowing for pre-patch testing in a staging environment and rollback if the patch introduces compatibility issues with federated authentication protocols like SAML or OAuth.
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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
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.
IT Risk Identification — This question tests IT Risk Identification — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Schedule the patch during the next maintenance window. — Option B is correct because scheduling the patch during the next maintenance window aligns with the organization's low risk appetite by addressing the critical vulnerability in a controlled manner, while minimizing operational disruption. The IdM system is critical for business operations, so applying the patch immediately during business hours (Option C) would cause unacceptable downtime, and delaying indefinitely (Option D) would violate the low risk appetite. A 4-hour downtime is typical for identity management systems like Active Directory or LDAP, where patching requires a reboot or service restart, and a planned maintenance window allows for proper testing and rollback procedures.
What should I do if I get this CRISC question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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