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CRISC Practice Question: An internal audit report identifies that the IT…
An internal audit report identifies that the IT department did not patch a critical vulnerability in a database server for 90 days. The risk manager wants to identify the root cause risk. Which approach should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse operational remediation (e.g., rescanning or interviewing) with risk identification analysis, failing to recognize that the question specifically asks for identifying the root cause risk, not just confirming or logging the finding.
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
✓
Perform a root cause analysis on the patching process
The risk manager needs to identify the root cause risk, which requires understanding why the patching process failed to apply a critical security update within the required timeframe. A root cause analysis (RCA) on the patching process systematically examines procedural breakdowns, such as missed scanning cycles, lack of change management approval, or insufficient prioritization of database-specific patches (e.g., Oracle Critical Patch Updates). This approach directly addresses the underlying process deficiency rather than merely documenting or re-verifying the vulnerability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Interview the database system owner
Why it's wrong here
Single interview may be biased; broader analysis needed.
- ✗
Conduct a new vulnerability scan
Why it's wrong here
Scan only reveals vulnerabilities, not causes.
- ✗
Update the risk register with the finding
Why it's wrong here
Register update records, not analyzes cause.
- ✓
Perform a root cause analysis on the patching process
Why this is correct
Root cause analysis identifies process gaps leading to the delay.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CRISC 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 CRISC exam.