CRISC IT Risk Assessment Practice Question
A risk assessment identifies a critical vulnerability in a web application. Which control type would be most effective in preventing exploitation of this vulnerability?
⚠ Common exam trap
CRISC often tests the distinction between control types; candidates must recognize that 'prevent' questions require a preventive control, not a detective or corrective one, even if those are also valuable.
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
✓
Preventive control such as patching the vulnerability
A preventive control stops an incident before it occurs, and patching the vulnerability removes the exploitable condition entirely, which is the most effective way to prevent exploitation. Since the vulnerability is identified as critical, remediation via patching directly addresses the root cause rather than merely detecting or recovering from an exploit.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Compensating control such as additional monitoring
Why it's wrong here
Additional monitoring is compensating, providing an alternative safeguard when the primary control cannot be applied; it observes rather than blocks. Compensating controls suit situations where patching is impossible and residual risk must be managed another way.
- ✓
Preventive control such as patching the vulnerability
Why this is correct
Patching removes the vulnerable code path entirely, stopping exploitation before it can occur, which is the defining mechanism of a preventive control. This directly satisfies the stem's requirement for the control type most effective at preventing exploitation of the identified web application vulnerability.
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Corrective control such as backup restoration
Why it's wrong here
Backup restoration is corrective: it recovers data after exploitation has already succeeded, so it cannot stop the attack. Corrective controls are the right answer when the question asks how to restore operations following an incident, not how to block it.
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Detective control such as log monitoring
Why it's wrong here
Log monitoring is detective: it identifies exploitation after it occurs, generating alerts rather than stopping the attack. Detective controls are the correct answer when the requirement is to discover and respond to incidents, not to prevent them.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
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