CCSP Cloud Concepts, Architecture, and Design Practice Question
A company is considering migrating its customer relationship management (CRM) system to a SaaS provider. Which TWO of the following security responsibilities typically remain with the customer in a SaaS deployment?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is assuming the customer still patches the OS or manages application vulnerabilities in SaaS; those shift to the provider, leaving identity and data governance with the customer.
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
✓
User access management
In a SaaS deployment, the customer retains responsibility for managing its own users and identities, so user access management (C) — provisioning, deprovisioning, role assignment, and enforcing least privilege through SSO/MFA — stays with the customer. Likewise, data classification and access control (E) remain customer duties because the customer owns the data and must define its sensitivity, retention, and who may access it, even though the provider secures the underlying platform. Physical security of data centers (A) is handled by the SaaS provider, which owns and operates the facilities. Operating system patching (B) is the provider's responsibility since the customer has no access to the underlying OS in a SaaS model. Application vulnerability management (D) also belongs to the provider, as it develops, hosts, and maintains the SaaS application itself.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Physical security of data centers
Why it's wrong here
Physical security of data centres transfers to the SaaS provider, which owns and operates the underlying hardware. It is tempting because physical controls remain a customer concern in IaaS, where the customer still manages some infrastructure, but in SaaS the provider assumes full responsibility for the physical layer.
- ✗
Operating system patching
Why it's wrong here
Operating system patching belongs to the SaaS provider, which manages the underlying platform and runtime. It is tempting because OS patching stays with the customer in IaaS and PaaS deployments, but SaaS abstracts the operating system entirely, leaving the customer responsible only for data, access and usage governance.
- ✓
User access management
Why this is correct
In SaaS, the provider secures the application and infrastructure, but the customer still governs its own tenants, roles and credentials. User access management stays with the customer because it controls who within the organisation may reach the CRM data, satisfying the stem's split of responsibility.
- ✗
Application vulnerability management
Why it's wrong here
Application vulnerability management for the SaaS product itself sits with the provider, who develops and maintains the application. It is tempting because customers still manage vulnerabilities in their own integrations and configurations, but patching the vendor's application code remains the provider's responsibility under the shared responsibility model.
- ✓
Data classification and access control
Why this is correct
SaaS shifts infrastructure patching to the provider, yet the customer remains the data owner. Classifying CRM records and enforcing access control decisions over that data is a customer responsibility, directly satisfying the stem's requirement for responsibilities retained under the shared responsibility model.
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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 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.