CCSP Cloud Application Security Practice Question
A development team is migrating a legacy application to the cloud. Which security testing approach should be adopted early in the CI/CD pipeline to catch vulnerabilities as code is written?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between SAST (white-box, early pipeline) and DAST (black-box, post-deployment), and candidates mistakenly choose DAST because they think 'dynamic' implies early testing, but DAST requires a running application.
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
✓
Static application security testing (SAST)
Static application security testing (SAST) analyzes source code, bytecode, or binary code without executing the application, making it ideal for integration early in the CI/CD pipeline to catch vulnerabilities like SQL injection, buffer overflows, and XSS as code is written. This 'white-box' approach provides immediate feedback to developers, aligning with the shift-left security principle for cloud-native development.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Dynamic application security testing (DAST)
Why it's wrong here
DAST tests running applications, not early.
- ✗
Penetration testing
Why it's wrong here
Penetration testing is typically done later.
- ✗
Runtime application self-protection (RASP)
Why it's wrong here
RASP protects at runtime, not during development.
- ✓
Static application security testing (SAST)
Why this is correct
SAST scans source code early in the pipeline.
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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.