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ISC2 CC Practice Question: During a security audit, you discover that a…
During a security audit, you discover that a financial application stores passwords using MD5 hashing without salt. What is the primary security concern with this practice?
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
✓
Without salting, the hashes are vulnerable to precomputed rainbow table attacks
MD5 is a fast hash, making it susceptible to brute-force and rainbow table attacks. Without salting, identical passwords produce identical hashes, allowing precomputed rainbow tables to quickly reverse them. Hashing is one-way, so MD5 is not reversible in the true sense. Speed is a vulnerability, not a benefit. Compliance is secondary but not the primary security concern.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
MD5 is reversible, allowing attackers to recover plaintext passwords
Why it's wrong here
MD5 is a one-way hash; it is not reversible, but it is cryptographically broken.
- ✗
MD5 is too slow, causing performance issues during authentication
Why it's wrong here
MD5 is fast, which is actually a weakness for password storage, not a strength.
- ✓
Without salting, the hashes are vulnerable to precomputed rainbow table attacks
Why this is correct
Rainbow tables can quickly find matching plaintext for unsalted MD5 hashes.
- ✗
Storing hashes violates PCI DSS compliance, but does not affect security
Why it's wrong here
It does affect security; PCI DSS requires strong cryptography and salting.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Introduction to Security Principles
Key term
General Data Protection Regulation
A European Union law that gives individuals control over their personal data and sets strict rules for how organizations collect, store, and process that data.
Key term
Vulnerability
A vulnerability is a weakness in a system, network, or software that could be exploited by a threat to cause harm or unauthorized access.
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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.