CCSP Cloud Security Operations Practice Question
A security engineer is evaluating vulnerability management options for cloud workloads and wants to identify vulnerabilities without installing agents on the operating system. Which approach should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse 'agentless scanning' with 'network-based scanning,' assuming that any scan without an OS agent must be network-based, but the CCSP exam specifically tests the cloud-native API-driven assessment model as the correct agentless approach for cloud workloads.
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
✓
Agentless scanning using cloud API-based assessment
Agentless scanning leverages cloud provider APIs (e.g., for configuration and asset inventory) to assess the configuration and patch state of cloud workloads without requiring an OS-level agent. This approach directly meets the requirement of identifying vulnerabilities without installing agents on the operating system, as it reads metadata and configuration snapshots from the cloud control plane.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Network-based vulnerability scanning
Why it's wrong here
Network-based scanning probes exposed services remotely, so it cannot inventory installed packages or detect unexposed local vulnerabilities on the workload. It is tempting because it needs no host software, and it would be correct when the requirement is external attack-surface assessment of reachable services.
- ✓
Agentless scanning using cloud API-based assessment
Why this is correct
Agentless scanning queries the cloud provider's APIs to enumerate resources and compare their configurations against vulnerability and patch baselines, so no software is installed on the guest OS. This directly satisfies the stem's constraint of identifying vulnerabilities without deploying agents.
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Agent-based scanning using a cloud-specific vulnerability scanner
Why it's wrong here
Agent-based scanning requires software installed on the operating system, directly contradicting the stated agentless requirement. It is tempting because agents give deep host visibility, including patched-package and configuration state, and it would be correct when the requirement is continuous host-level assessment where agent installation is permitted.
- ✗
Container image scanning in a registry
Why it's wrong here
Registry image scanning inspects stored image layers, so it cannot see vulnerabilities introduced at runtime, in mounted volumes, or in the running OS instance. It is tempting because it is genuinely agentless, and it would be correct when the requirement is pre-deployment assurance for container artefacts.
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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.