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ISC2 CC Practice Question: A system administrator notices that a user has…
A system administrator notices that a user has been granted read and write permissions to a folder but should only have read access. Which type of access control issue does this represent?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between authorization creep (gradual accumulation over time) and excessive permissions (a one-time over-provisioning), so candidates may confuse the two when the scenario describes a single incorrect assignment.
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
✓
Excessive permissions
Excessive permissions occur when a user or group is granted more privileges than necessary for their role. In this scenario, the user has read and write access to a folder but should only have read access, meaning the write permission is unnecessary and violates the principle of least privilege. This is a classic example of excessive permissions, as the user has been over-provisioned beyond their job requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Excessive permissions
Why this is correct
Granting read and write when only read is required exceeds the user's legitimate need, breaching least privilege. This is excessive permissions: the access control issue is that rights granted are broader than the role demands, not a misconfigured or missing permission.
- ✗
Segregation of duties conflict
Why it's wrong here
Segregation of duties concerns one person holding conflicting duties that enable fraud, typically across separate business functions. A single user having write where only read is needed is an excess-permission problem, not a conflict between incompatible responsibilities.
- ✗
Authorization creep
Why it's wrong here
Authorization creep describes permissions gradually accumulating over time through role changes. This user was granted read and write in one assignment, exceeding the read-only requirement immediately, so the fault is excessive privilege at provisioning rather than incremental drift across multiple grants.
- ✗
Incomplete revocation
Why it's wrong here
Incomplete revocation means rights linger after removal, but here write access was never legitimately held and never withdrawn. The issue is excess privilege granted beyond the read-only requirement — the principle of least privilege breached at assignment, not a failure to revoke existing entitlements.
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
Group
A group is a collection of users, devices, or other objects that are assigned permissions and policies together for simplified management in identity and governance systems like Microsoft Entra ID.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.