CCSP Cloud Application Security Practice Question
A security team is reviewing a cloud application's CI/CD pipeline. They want to ensure that only approved open-source libraries are used in production builds. Which approach best addresses this requirement?
⚠ Common exam trap
ISC2 often tests the distinction between SAST (static code analysis), DAST (dynamic analysis), and SCA, expecting candidates to recognize that only SCA directly addresses the management and approval of third-party open-source components and their associated risks.
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
✓
Implement a software composition analysis (SCA) tool in the pipeline
A Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tool is specifically designed to automatically scan open-source libraries for known vulnerabilities, licensing issues, and version compliance. By integrating SCA into the CI/CD pipeline, the team can enforce a policy that only approved libraries (e.g., those passing a security and license review) are allowed in production builds, blocking unapproved or vulnerable components before deployment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Segment the build network to limit internet access
Why it's wrong here
Segmenting the build network restricts outbound connectivity but does not verify which libraries are approved. It is tempting because network isolation limits exposure, yet the requirement is dependency governance, which needs artefact scanning or an allow-list policy in the pipeline.
- ✗
Perform static code analysis after each build
Why it's wrong here
Static code analysis inspects source for flaws such as injection or insecure calls; it does not compare dependencies against an approved-library allowlist, so unapproved packages still reach production. It is tempting because it genuinely catches coding defects, and would be the right control when the requirement is finding vulnerabilities in first-party code.
- ✓
Implement a software composition analysis (SCA) tool in the pipeline
Why this is correct
Software composition analysis inventories every open-source component and its transitive dependencies, then matches them against vulnerability and licence databases. Embedding SCA in the CI/CD pipeline enforces the approval constraint by failing builds that introduce unapproved libraries, giving the gate the stem requires before artefacts reach production.
- ✗
Require manual approval for all library updates
Why it's wrong here
Manual approval gates every update regardless of whether the library is already approved, so it neither identifies unapproved components nor scales; the allowlist enforcement happens at dependency resolution. It is tempting because human review suits high-risk changes, and would be correct where a small number of critical releases need sign-off.
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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.