CCSP Cloud Application Security Practice Question
A company deploys microservices in Kubernetes. Each service communicates via gRPC with mutual TLS. A security assessment reveals that some services use self-signed certificates. What is the primary risk?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the misconception that self-signed certificates are only a problem for revocation or key exposure, when the core issue is the lack of trusted identity verification enabling MITM attacks.
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
✓
Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks between services
The primary risk of using self-signed certificates in a gRPC mutual TLS environment is that there is no trusted Certificate Authority (CA) to verify the identity of the communicating services. Without proper CA-signed certificates, an attacker can easily perform a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack by presenting a forged self-signed certificate, intercepting and modifying gRPC traffic between microservices.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Inability to revoke certificates
Why it's wrong here
Revocation is possible with CRLs/OCSP, but not the main risk.
- ✗
Exposure of private keys in the container image
Why it's wrong here
Key exposure is a separate concern.
- ✗
Increased latency due to certificate validation
Why it's wrong here
Performance impact is not the primary security risk.
- ✓
Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks between services
Why this is correct
Without trusted CA validation, MITM is possible.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CCSP 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 CCSP exam.