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CCNA Secure Software Architecture And Design Questions

28 questions · Secure Software Architecture And Design · All types, answers revealed

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1
MCQeasy

During a threat model, you identify a risk related to 'Broken Access Control'. Which design mitigation is best suited for this?

A.Using HTTPS for all communications.
B.Implementing a strong password policy.
C.Relying on client-side hidden fields to identify user roles.
D.Enforcing centralized, server-side authorization checks for every request.
AnswerD

This ensures consistent and secure access control enforcement.

Why this answer

Policy-based access control (RBAC or ABAC) ensures users only access resources they are authorized to.

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2
MCQhard

In a cloud-native environment, which design practice minimizes the impact of a compromised container?

A.Storing secret keys as environment variables in the container spec.
B.Enforcing read-only root filesystems for containers.
C.Running the application process as the root user.
D.Using a single large image for all microservices.
AnswerB

This prevents attackers from installing persistent malware or modifying binaries.

Why this answer

Containers should be designed to be immutable and run with minimal privileges, reducing the blast radius.

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3
MCQeasy

Which design principle is exemplified by implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to inspect incoming traffic before it hits the application logic?

A.Fail-safe defaults.
B.Complete mediation.
C.Economy of mechanism.
D.Defense in depth.
AnswerD

Adding a WAF provides a layer of defense before the application logic.

Why this answer

Defense in depth uses multiple layers of security to protect assets, ensuring that one failure does not lead to a total compromise.

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4
MCQmedium

During a STRIDE threat modeling session for an API gateway, you identify a risk where an attacker could intercept data in transit. Which design pattern effectively mitigates this?

A.Implement OAuth 2.0 scopes on the API gateway.
B.Use a Hardware Security Module (HSM) to store API keys.
C.Implement Mutual TLS (mTLS) for all inter-service communications.
D.Enable request rate limiting on the gateway.
AnswerC

mTLS provides both encryption and mutual identity verification.

Why this answer

TLS is the standard design pattern for ensuring confidentiality and integrity in transit.

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5
MCQhard

When designing an application that requires secret management (e.g., API keys, database credentials), which design pattern is considered most secure?

A.Using a dedicated Secret Management service (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager) to inject secrets at runtime.
B.Storing secrets in a configuration file within the deployment container.
C.Requesting secrets from the user at application startup.
D.Hard-coding secrets in the source code as encrypted strings.
AnswerA

This allows for rotation, central management, and auditing of secret usage.

Why this answer

Retrieving secrets dynamically from a dedicated secret manager at runtime prevents hard-coding and exposure in configuration files.

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6
MCQeasy

You are designing a web application and need to ensure the Principle of Least Privilege is applied to database access. Which approach best satisfies this requirement?

A.Use a dedicated service account restricted to execute-only permissions on specific stored procedures.
B.Configure the web application to run as the database administrator account.
C.Grant the web application service account DBOwner rights on the production database.
D.Enable integrated Windows authentication for all database connections.
AnswerA

This limits the application's ability to perform unauthorized operations.

Why this answer

Using a service account with scoped permissions to specific tables and stored procedures adheres to least privilege.

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7
MCQmedium

Your team is adopting a 'Secure by Default' posture. Which design requirement should be included in the development specification?

A.Allowing administrative access to all users by default.
B.Using self-signed certificates in the development environment only.
C.Disabling all unused services and ports in the production container image.
D.Providing a configuration wizard to enable SSL after deployment.
AnswerC

Reduces attack surface by eliminating unnecessary functionality.

Why this answer

Secure by default means security controls are enabled without user intervention, such as disabling unnecessary features.

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8
MCQmedium

In a service-oriented architecture (SOA), which design pattern is most effective for ensuring that messages between services are not tampered with?

A.Digital signatures on the message payload.
B.Logging all messages to a central server.
C.Encryption of the message payload.
D.Using a private network for all communication.
AnswerA

Signatures provide non-repudiation and integrity verification.

Why this answer

Message signing ensures integrity by verifying that the data was not altered after being signed by the sender.

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9
Multi-Selecthard

Which TWO of the following design choices mitigate the risk of 'Broken Object-Level Authorization' (BOLA)?

Select 2 answers
A.Using sequentially incrementing IDs (e.g., 1, 2, 3) for all resources.
B.Relying on the frontend to hide sensitive objects.
C.Using random, non-predictable UUIDs for resource identifiers.
D.Using base64 encoded strings for all database IDs.
E.Verifying that the user ID in the session owns the requested resource ID.
AnswersC, E

Makes resource discovery difficult.

Why this answer

Checking ownership on every request and using non-predictable resource IDs are key BOLA defenses.

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10
MCQhard

Which design activity helps identify security requirements during the earliest phases of the SDLC?

A.Penetration testing.
B.Abuse case modeling.
C.Incident response planning.
D.Static code analysis.
AnswerB

Defining how a feature can be abused helps specify security controls.

Why this answer

Abuse case modeling explores how an attacker might misuse a feature, which helps define security requirements.

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11
Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO of the following strategies best implement the principle of 'Separation of Duties' in an application design?

Select 2 answers
A.Granting developers full access to production database backups.
B.Requiring two distinct roles to approve a production code deployment.
C.Using a single shared admin account for all system functions.
D.Separating administrative duties between security and system roles.
E.Allowing a single admin to manage all user accounts.
AnswersB, D

Prevents unauthorized code changes.

Why this answer

Assigning different roles for code deployment and database management prevents one person from having total control.

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12
Multi-Selecteasy

Which THREE of the following are key components of a 'Secure Design Review' process?

Select 3 answers
A.Writing the final deployment documentation.
B.Performing dynamic analysis on the final build.
C.Validating the architecture against established security patterns.
D.Reviewing security requirements for traceability.
E.Evaluating the threat model for completeness.
AnswersC, D, E

Ensures design follows industry standards.

Why this answer

Reviewing security requirements, threat models, and architectural patterns are foundational to design reviews.

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13
MCQhard

A design uses a shared service account for multiple microservices to access a common database. Which architectural risk does this create?

A.Increased network latency.
B.Increased risk of SQL injection.
C.Loss of accountability and difficulty in auditing specific service actions.
D.Incompatibility with container orchestrators.
AnswerC

It becomes impossible to identify which microservice performed a specific database action.

Why this answer

Shared accounts prevent granular auditing and lead to excessive privilege accumulation.

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14
Multi-Selectmedium

Which TWO of the following design patterns improve the resilience of a secure system?

Select 2 answers
A.Fail-safe defaults.
B.Allowing all traffic on port 80 for compatibility.
C.Security through obscurity.
D.Fail-secure system design.
E.Hard-coding credentials for quick recovery.
AnswersA, D

Ensures security by default on failure.

Why this answer

Fail-safe defaults and fail-secure design ensure systems remain in a known secure state upon failure.

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15
MCQeasy

Which design principle suggests that developers should keep the security mechanisms simple to understand and implement?

A.Open design.
B.Economy of mechanism.
C.Complete mediation.
D.Defense in depth.
AnswerB

Complexity is the enemy of security.

Why this answer

Economy of mechanism ensures that small, simple security designs are easier to verify and less prone to vulnerabilities.

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16
MCQmedium

In the context of secure design, what does 'Fail-safe defaults' mean when designing an authentication module?

A.The system automatically resets passwords if a login failure occurs.
B.The system permits login if the authentication server is unreachable.
C.If a system error occurs during login, the system denies access by default.
D.All new users are granted guest access until the admin verifies them.
AnswerC

This ensures security is maintained during failure states.

Why this answer

If the module crashes or encounters an error, the system should default to 'deny' access rather than 'allow'.

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17
MCQhard

You are designing an application that integrates with a legacy system. Which design strategy minimizes the risk of the legacy system's vulnerabilities affecting your application?

A.Creating an abstraction layer (wrapper/adapter) to sanitize all data exchanged.
B.Migrating all legacy data immediately.
C.Direct integration via shared database tables.
D.Granting the legacy system full administrative privileges in the new system.
AnswerA

This shields the new application from legacy system weaknesses.

Why this answer

An abstraction layer acts as a buffer, sanitizing and normalizing data before it enters or leaves the application.

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18
Multi-Selectmedium

When designing an application that relies on external APIs, which THREE of the following are necessary security considerations?

Select 3 answers
A.Only using HTTP for faster communication.
B.Managing API keys using a secure vault.
C.Hard-coding the API endpoint URLs in the application.
D.Validating all data returned by the external API before processing.
E.Securing the connection using HTTPS/TLS.
AnswersB, D, E

Prevents credential leakage.

Why this answer

Validating input, securing transport, and managing API keys are crucial for third-party integrations.

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19
MCQmedium

You are designing an input validation strategy. Which technique provides the best defense against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)?

A.Using a centralized regex filter to strip HTML tags.
B.Encrypting all user input before storing it in the database.
C.Performing context-aware output encoding at the presentation layer.
D.Implementing a strict allow-list for all input fields.
AnswerC

This ensures input is neutralized based on where it is displayed.

Why this answer

Context-aware output encoding prevents browsers from interpreting user input as active content.

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20
MCQeasy

During threat modeling, you are asked to classify data sensitivity. Which outcome is the primary goal of this activity?

A.To identify which security controls and protection levels are required for specific data assets.
B.To identify the database engine version.
C.To automate the backup frequency of the database.
D.To determine which data needs to be deleted periodically.
AnswerA

Classification drives the selection of encryption, access, and monitoring controls.

Why this answer

Data classification allows for the application of appropriate security controls based on the data's risk profile.

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21
MCQhard

You are auditing a design that uses JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) for stateless authentication. Which vulnerability is most critical if the 'alg: none' attack is possible?

A.Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
B.Broken object-level authorization.
C.Insecure cookie flags.
D.Token signature bypass/forgery.
AnswerD

An attacker can manipulate claims in the token without the server detecting the change.

Why this answer

The 'alg: none' vulnerability allows an attacker to forge tokens by telling the server to skip signature verification.

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22
MCQeasy

When conducting a secure design review, which activity provides the most insight into potential session management vulnerabilities?

A.Checking for SQL injection in login forms.
B.Reviewing the database schema for password hashing algorithms.
C.Verifying the presence of a Web Application Firewall (WAF).
D.Analyzing the implementation of HttpOnly and Secure flags on session cookies.
AnswerD

These flags prevent XSS-based cookie theft and plaintext transmission.

Why this answer

Session management is best reviewed by analyzing the cookie attributes and token handling flows.

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23
Multi-Selecthard

When performing threat modeling using the STRIDE model, which TWO of the following threats are mitigated by implementing digital signatures?

Select 2 answers
A.Repudiation.
B.Elevation of Privilege.
C.Information Disclosure.
D.Denial of Service.
E.Tampering.
AnswersA, E

Signatures provide proof of origin.

Why this answer

Digital signatures provide integrity (detecting tampering) and non-repudiation (proving source).

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24
MCQhard

An organization is moving a monolithic application to a microservices architecture. Which security design pattern is most effective for centralizing authentication while decoupling it from individual microservices?

A.Centralized database user management.
B.API Gateway pattern acting as an identity provider proxy.
C.Service Mesh with mutual TLS enabled.
D.Sidecar pattern using a local proxy for mTLS.
AnswerB

Centralizes auth logic for easier management and consistent policy enforcement.

Why this answer

The API Gateway pattern centralizes authentication, preventing every microservice from having to implement its own logic.

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25
Multi-Selecthard

When designing for auditability, which THREE of the following pieces of information should be captured in security logs?

Select 3 answers
A.The full password of the user involved in the event.
B.The type of action performed.
C.The user's home address and phone number.
D.User identity or service account identifier.
E.The timestamp and success/failure status of the action.
AnswersB, D, E

Essential for understanding the activity.

Why this answer

Who (user/service), what (action), and result (success/failure) are mandatory for reconstruction.

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26
MCQeasy

When designing an API, which approach best supports the 'Complete Mediation' principle?

A.Relying on the frontend to filter out unauthorized menu items.
B.Checking authorization only once at the beginning of the user session.
C.Allowing public access to all GET methods in the API.
D.Verifying authorization on every single API request.
AnswerD

Ensures every interaction is authorized against current policy.

Why this answer

Complete mediation requires that every access to every object be checked for authority.

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27
Multi-Selecteasy

When evaluating a secure design, which TWO of the following practices are considered essential for secure session management?

Select 2 answers
A.Allowing multiple simultaneous sessions for a single user.
B.Using long-lived sessions to improve user experience.
C.Setting the HttpOnly and Secure flags on session cookies.
D.Storing session tokens in the browser's local storage.
E.Regenerating the session ID after a successful login.
AnswersC, E

Prevents cookie theft and plaintext transit.

Why this answer

Using secure, HTTP-only, and SameSite flags are critical for cookie security, and regenerating session IDs prevents fixation.

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28
Multi-Selectmedium

When designing a secure API, which THREE of the following practices are part of a 'defense in depth' strategy?

Select 3 answers
A.Enforcing mutual TLS (mTLS) for authentication.
B.Implementing rate limiting at the API gateway.
C.Hardcoding API keys in the code for efficiency.
D.Relying solely on the WAF for security.
E.Implementing input validation for all parameters.
AnswersA, B, E

Provides strong identity and transport security.

Why this answer

Input validation, rate limiting, and mTLS are three different layers of defense protecting the API.

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