hardMultiple Choice
ISC2 CC Practice Question: A system administrator accidentally grants a user…
A system administrator accidentally grants a user full administrative rights instead of read-only. Which control would best detect this error?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is assuming that because the error was accidental, a preventive control is the answer — but the scenario explicitly states the error already happened, so only a detective control can find it after the fact.
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
✓
Detective control
A detective control is designed to identify and log events after they occur, such as reviewing access logs, SIEM alerts, or periodic access reviews that would reveal the accidental over-provisioning of admin rights. Because the error has already happened, only a detective control can surface it. Preventive controls would have stopped the grant, and corrective controls would fix it after detection.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Preventive control
Why it's wrong here
Preventive controls stop an error before it occurs, such as approval workflows or least-privilege enforcement; here the excessive grant already happened, so nothing is detected. It is tempting because it is the strongest control category, and it would be correct if the question asked how to stop the misconfiguration being applied.
- ✗
Deterrent control
Why it's wrong here
Deterrent controls discourage would-be violators through warnings, policies or visible monitoring, but they produce no record that flags an accidental over-grant. It is tempting because deterrents reduce incident likelihood, and one would be correct where the goal is discouraging intentional misuse rather than detecting a mistake.
- ✗
Corrective control
Why it's wrong here
Corrective controls remediate after damage is identified, such as revoking the rights or restoring from backup; they act on a known incident rather than surfacing the unnoticed error. It is tempting because remediation follows detection, and it would be correct if the question asked how to fix the excessive permissions once discovered.
- ✓
Detective control
Why this is correct
Detective controls identify errors after they occur, satisfying the need to catch the accidental over-provisioning of rights. Audit logging and access reviews in Microsoft Entra ID would surface the excessive permissions, whereas preventive controls only block actions at the point of change and cannot flag a misconfiguration already granted.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Access Control Fundamentals
Key term
SIEM
SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) is a system that collects and analyzes log data from across an IT environment to detect and respond to security threats in real time.
Key term
Detective control
A detective control is a security measure that identifies and reports unwanted or suspicious activity after it has already occurred.
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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.