hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CISSP Practice Question: A security team is evaluating the results of a…
A security team is evaluating the results of a penetration test. The test revealed that a low-privileged user could escalate privileges to domain administrator. This is a critical finding. Which of the following should be the immediate next step?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse a penetration test finding (a vulnerability) with an active security incident, leading them to choose incident response (A) instead of the correct remediation step (D), which is to patch the exploited vulnerability first.
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 patch management for the exploited vulnerability
The immediate priority after discovering a privilege escalation vulnerability is to remediate the root cause—typically a missing patch or misconfiguration—to prevent further exploitation. In a penetration test context, the finding indicates a technical flaw (e.g., a missing security update for CVE-2021-42287 or a misconfigured Active Directory ACL) that must be patched or hardened first. Full incident response (A) is premature without evidence of active compromise, and re-imaging (B) or account termination (C) are reactive measures that do not address the underlying vulnerability.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Conduct a full incident response
Why it's wrong here
Conducting a full incident response is an action reserved for confirmed security breaches or active compromises, which is not the scenario here. A penetration test identifies vulnerabilities and demonstrates exploitability in a controlled environment, indicating a potential risk, not necessarily an ongoing attack requiring immediate containment and eradication protocols typical of incident response. This is a proactive discovery, not a reactive response to a breach.
- ✗
Re-image all affected systems
Why it's wrong here
Re-imaging all affected systems is an extreme measure typically used for systems confirmed to be compromised or to enforce a clean baseline. In this context, a penetration test has identified a specific vulnerability, not necessarily a widespread compromise requiring system rebuilds. If the vulnerability resides in the core software or configuration, re-imaging without addressing the underlying flaw would only reintroduce the same weakness.
- ✗
Terminate the user's account
Why it's wrong here
Terminating a user's account is an inappropriate response to a system vulnerability identified during a penetration test. This action addresses user-specific access or potential malicious activity, not a flaw in the system's software, configuration, or architecture. The vulnerability exists independently of any particular user account and would persist even if all user accounts were removed.
- ✓
Implement patch management for the exploited vulnerability
Why this is correct
Implementing patch management directly addresses the root cause identified by the penetration test. By applying security patches or configuration changes for the exploited vulnerability, the attack vector is eliminated, preventing future exploitation. This proactive remediation is the most effective and targeted response to a discovered security flaw, enhancing the system's overall security posture.
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Related to this question
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Security Governance and Principles
Key term
Security update
A security update is a software patch released to fix a vulnerability that could be exploited by attackers to compromise a system.
Key term
Incident
An incident is a security event that violates an organization's policies or threatens its data, systems, or operations, requiring a structured response.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISSP 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 CISSP exam.