CCSP Cloud Platform and Infrastructure Security Practice Question
Which of the following is a primary risk specific to virtual machine escape attacks in cloud environments?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is selecting a generic attack impact (data corruption, DoS) instead of recognizing that the defining risk of VM escape in cloud is cross-tenant compromise due to shared hypervisor infrastructure.
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
✓
Unauthorized access to other tenant VMs
VM escape attacks occur when an attacker breaks out of the guest VM's isolation and gains access to the hypervisor or host. In a multi-tenant cloud environment, the hypervisor manages multiple tenants' VMs, so a successful escape can allow the attacker to access or compromise other tenants' VMs running on the same host. This cross-tenant access is the primary risk specific to cloud VM escape, as it violates the fundamental isolation guarantee of cloud computing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Unauthorized access to other tenant VMs
Why this is correct
A VM escape exploits a hypervisor or virtualisation flaw to break out of the guest boundary, letting the attacker execute code on the host. From there they can read or manipulate other tenants' VM memory and data, so unauthorised access to co-resident tenant VMs is the defining risk.
- ✗
Data corruption within the same VM
Why it's wrong here
Escape compromises the hypervisor, letting the attacker reach other tenants' VMs and the host; corruption confined to one guest stays within that VM's own boundary. It tempts because escape does involve the compromised guest, yet the defining risk is cross-tenant compromise, not localised data damage.
- ✗
Increased latency in virtual networking
Why it's wrong here
Escape yields hypervisor-level code execution and cross-tenant access, not degraded network performance. It tempts because virtual networking is a shared cloud component, yet latency is a performance concern rather than the confidentiality and isolation breach escape represents.
- ✗
Denial of service to the attacker's own VM
Why it's wrong here
Escape targets the hypervisor and co-resident tenants, not the attacker's own guest; denying service to yourself yields nothing. It tempts because resource exhaustion is a genuine cloud threat, but that describes denial of service against victims, not self-inflicted outage during an escape.
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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.