This CCSP practice question tests your understanding of legal, risk and compliance. Compare every option against the stated constraints before choosing — the best answer satisfies all requirements, not just the most obvious one. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company identifies a high-risk vulnerability in a cloud application. The cost to remediate is significantly higher than the potential loss from exploitation. Which risk treatment strategy is most appropriate?
Acceptance
Correct. Risk acceptance is justified when cost of treatment exceeds potential loss.
Avoidance
Why wrong: Avoidance means eliminating the risk, which may not be feasible or cost-effective.
Transfer
Why wrong: Transfer via insurance may not be cost-effective and doesn't address the risk directly.
Mitigation
Why wrong: Mitigation would reduce risk but cost is high, making it less appropriate.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Acceptance
When the cost to remediate a vulnerability exceeds the potential loss from exploitation, the most appropriate risk treatment strategy is acceptance. This means the organization formally acknowledges the risk and chooses to tolerate it without implementing additional controls, often documented in a risk register. In cloud environments, this is common for low-impact, high-cost vulnerabilities where the business decides the residual risk is within its risk appetite.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Acceptance
Why this is correct
Correct. Risk acceptance is justified when cost of treatment exceeds potential loss.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Avoidance
Why it's wrong here
Avoidance means eliminating the risk, which may not be feasible or cost-effective.
Transfer
Why it's wrong here
Transfer via insurance may not be cost-effective and doesn't address the risk directly.
Mitigation
Why it's wrong here
Mitigation would reduce risk but cost is high, making it less appropriate.
Common exam traps
ISC2 often tests the distinction between risk acceptance and risk mitigation, where candidates mistakenly choose mitigation because they assume all vulnerabilities must be fixed, ignoring the cost-benefit analysis that justifies acceptance.
Detailed technical explanation
Risk acceptance is a formal decision documented in a risk register, often with a justification and approval from management. In cloud environments, this might involve accepting a known vulnerability in a serverless function or an S3 bucket policy that is too costly to fix, with the understanding that the asset's value or exposure is minimal. The organization must continuously monitor the risk to ensure the threat landscape does not change, making acceptance no longer viable.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A security team runs a vulnerability scan on a web application and discovers an unpatched SQL injection flaw. The team prioritises remediation by CVSS score — critical flaws are patched within 24 hours, high within 7 days. Questions like this test whether you understand vulnerability management processes, scanning tools, and remediation prioritisation.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Legal, Risk and Compliance — This question tests Legal, Risk and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Acceptance — When the cost to remediate a vulnerability exceeds the potential loss from exploitation, the most appropriate risk treatment strategy is acceptance. This means the organization formally acknowledges the risk and chooses to tolerate it without implementing additional controls, often documented in a risk register. In cloud environments, this is common for low-impact, high-cost vulnerabilities where the business decides the residual risk is within its risk appetite.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
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.
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