hardMultiple Choice
ISC2 CC Practice Question: A company has implemented a role-based access…
A company has implemented a role-based access control (RBAC) system. A new employee in the finance department is granted the 'Finance User' role, which allows them to view invoices but not create payments. However, after a system upgrade, it is discovered that the 'Finance User' role now includes the ability to create payments due to a misconfiguration. The employee did not request this additional privilege and has not exploited it. The security team is notified. Which principle has been violated, and what is the most appropriate immediate action?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is conflating least privilege with separation of duties or accountability, and choosing punitive actions (disable/revoke) instead of the proportionate fix of correcting the role permissions.
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
✓
Least privilege; correct the role permissions to only what is necessary
The misconfiguration granted the employee more permissions than required, violating the principle of least privilege. The most appropriate immediate action is to correct the role permissions so they include only what is necessary, restoring least privilege without unnecessarily punishing the employee. Since the employee did not request or exploit the privilege, permanent revocation or account disablement is disproportionate.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Separation of duties; disable the employee's account until an investigation is complete
Why it's wrong here
The misconfiguration granted an unrequested privilege, which is a least-privilege violation, not separation of duties; disabling the account also punishes an employee who did nothing wrong. Separation of duties applies when one person holds conflicting duties, requiring the role be split instead.
- ✗
Accountability; remove the 'Finance User' role from all employees
Why it's wrong here
Accountability concerns tracing actions to identities, not privilege scope; the misconfiguration granted excess rights, which is a least privilege breach. Removing the role from every employee also breaks legitimate invoice viewing. Accountability tooling such as audit logging would be the right focus when investigating who did what.
- ✗
Least privilege; revoke the employee's access permanently
Why it's wrong here
Least privilege is indeed violated, but revoking access permanently over-corrects: the employee needs invoice viewing to do their job. The immediate action is to remove the unintended create-payments permission from the role, restoring the intended entitlement rather than stripping all access.
- ✓
Least privilege; correct the role permissions to only what is necessary
Why this is correct
The misconfigured role granted payment creation beyond the employee's job needs, breaching least privilege. Correcting the role permissions to only the access required restores that principle immediately, removing the excessive privilege before any exploitation occurs.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Access Control Fundamentals
Key term
Least privilege
Least privilege is a security principle that means giving users, systems, or programs only the minimum permissions they need to do their job and nothing more.
Key term
Role
A role is a named set of permissions that can be assigned to users or groups to control access to resources in an IT environment.
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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 ISC2 exam blueprint
This CC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISC2 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 CC exam.