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CISSP · domain

Identity and Access Management

Identity and Access Management covers authentication, authorization, and identity lifecycle controls: Kerberos, federation, OAuth/OIDC, SAML, access control models, and provisioning. CISSP tests your ability to select the right control for a scenario, distinguish authentication from authorization, and recognize attacks like Kerberos ticket forgery, credential stuffing, and privilege escalation through misconfigured trust.

53 questions10 easy26 medium17 hard

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What this domain covers

What to know about Identity and Access Management

Map each scenario to the correct identity control: identify the attack (golden ticket, pass-the-hash), select the access model matching the described ownership, and choose the OAuth grant fitting the client type. The single most important thing: separate authentication from authorization before answering.

Kerberos flows: AS, TGT, TGS, service tickets, and KRBTGT golden ticket forgery

Access control models: DAC, MAC, RBAC, ABAC, and rule-based authorization decisions

OAuth 2.0 grant types, OpenID Connect, SAML assertions, and PKCE for public clients

Identity lifecycle: provisioning, deprovisioning, federation, SSO, and privileged access management

Watch out for

Common Identity and Access Management exam traps

  • ▸Confusing authentication (proving identity) with authorization (granting permissions), which flips scenario answers.
  • ▸Choosing MAC when the scenario describes a resource owner setting permissions, which is DAC.
  • ▸Picking the implicit or password grant for mobile apps instead of authorization code with PKCE.

Question index

All Identity and Access Management questions (53)

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1

A developer is implementing OAuth 2.0 for a mobile app (public client) that needs to access a user's data from a third-party API. To mitigate the authorization code interception attack, which OAuth 2.0 extension should be used?

Hard
2

Which access control model assigns permissions based on a user's job function?

Easy
3

A security policy requires that a user cannot have both the ability to create purchase orders and approve invoices. This is an example of:

Medium
4

A security analyst is performing an access review. Which THREE of the following are best practices for user access recertification? (Choose three.)

Hard
5

Which TWO of the following are examples of Type 3 authentication factors? (Choose two.)

Easy
6

A security analyst is reviewing access controls for a financial application. Which TWO of the following are considered best practices for preventing fraud? (Select TWO.)

Medium
7

In SAML 2.0, which component is responsible for authenticating the user and generating an assertion?

Medium
8

Which TWO of the following are OAuth 2.0 grant types? (Choose two.)

Medium
9

Which access control model bases decisions on attributes of the user, resource, and environment, and can use Boolean logic to define policies?

Hard
10

An organization wants to enable single sign-on (SSO) across multiple web applications using an XML-based protocol that supports browser redirect flows. Which technology is most appropriate?

Medium
11

Which authentication factor type is a smart card?

Easy
12

OpenID Connect (OIDC) extends OAuth 2.0 primarily by adding which capability?

Medium
13

A multinational bank must enforce least privilege across 4,000 roles that change frequently as employees move between trading, compliance, and IT functions. Auditors found that access reviews are performed manually and that role definitions drift from actual job duties. The identity team proposes a role mining and management program. Which approach best aligns with identity and access management governance objectives while reducing role explosion?

Hard
14

In an OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow with PKCE, what is the primary purpose of the code verifier and code challenge?

Medium
15

A security administrator is configuring a system that requires users to provide a password and a one-time code from a hardware token. Which authentication method is being implemented?

Medium
16

During a Kerberos authentication process, the client receives a Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) from the Authentication Server (AS). Later, the client presents the TGT to the Ticket Granting Server (TGS) to request a service ticket. Which of the following best describes the purpose of the TGT?

Hard
17

An organization discovers that a former employee's account is still active and has been used to access sensitive data. This is an example of which type of risk?

Hard
18

A security administrator is reviewing potential risks associated with orphaned accounts. Which TWO of the following are risks of orphaned accounts?

Medium
19

A healthcare organization uses a federated identity provider (IdP) to authenticate clinicians into a third-party electronic health record (EHR) application acting as a SAML 2.0 Service Provider (SP). The security team wants to reduce the risk that a stolen IdP session cookie could be replayed against the EHR. Which SAML 2.0 control should the team implement to bind the assertion to the authenticated browser session and limit replay?

Medium
20

Which of the following is an example of a Type 1 authentication factor?

Easy
21

An attacker who has compromised the Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) could forge a Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) to impersonate any user. This type of attack is known as:

Hard
22

In OAuth 2.0, which grant type is recommended for a native mobile application that cannot securely store a client secret, and uses PKCE?

Hard
23

In a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution, which feature provides temporary elevation of privileges for specific tasks, reducing the risk of standing privileges?

Medium
24

Which TWO of the following are characteristics of a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution? (Choose two.)

Medium
25

An organization is implementing a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution. Which THREE of the following are common features of PAM? (Select THREE.)

Hard
26

Which THREE of the following are components of a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution?

Medium
27

Which of the following is an example of a Type 2 authentication factor?

Easy
28

A security architect is designing an authentication system for a healthcare application that requires strong security. The system will use a password and a one-time passcode sent via SMS. How many authentication factor types are being used?

Medium
29

Which access control model allows the owner of a resource to determine who can access it and what permissions they have?

Hard
30

In Kerberos authentication, what is the purpose of the Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT)?

Medium
31

An LDAP distinguished name (DN) includes the attribute 'CN=John Doe,OU=Sales,DC=company,DC=com'. What does 'CN' stand for?

Medium
32

Which TWO of the following are differences between OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (OIDC)?

Hard
33

An organization implements Single Sign-On (SSO) using SAML 2.0. A user attempts to access a cloud application (Service Provider) but is not authenticated. The Service Provider redirects the user to the Identity Provider (IdP) for authentication. Which type of SAML flow is this?

Medium
34

An organization wants to implement single sign-on across multiple web applications using an XML-based protocol that supports identity provider (IdP) and service provider (SP) initiated flows. Which technology should they choose?

Hard
35

Which protocol is specifically designed for authorization and not authentication, often using grant types like authorization code and client credentials?

Easy
36

In Kerberos authentication, which component issues a Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) after verifying the user's credentials?

Medium
37

In LDAP, what does the Distinguished Name (DN) uniquely identify?

Easy
38

Which principle ensures that a user is granted only the permissions necessary to perform their job functions?

Easy
39

A security analyst discovers that an attacker has gained domain admin privileges by forging a Kerberos TGT using the KRBTGT account hash. Which attack has occurred?

Hard
40

An organization implements Privileged Access Management (PAM) and wants to reduce the risk of standing privileges. Which approach grants temporary elevated access only when needed?

Hard
41

Which of the following is a lightweight directory access protocol used for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information?

Easy
42

A financial application requires two employees to authorize a wire transfer. Which principle does this implement?

Medium
43

An organization is implementing OpenID Connect (OIDC) for authentication. Which THREE of the following are components of OIDC? (Choose three.)

Hard
44

An employee leaves the company, and their user account is not disabled. This creates a security risk known as:

Medium
45

Which OAuth 2.0 grant type is recommended for a public client (e.g., single-page application) that cannot securely store a client secret?

Medium
46

An organization is implementing identity management and wants to ensure that when an employee leaves, all access is promptly revoked. Which process is most directly responsible for removing accounts and access rights for a leaver?

Hard
47

In the context of identity management, which TWO of the following are risks associated with orphaned accounts? (Choose two.)

Medium
48

An organization wants to provide just-in-time administrative access to servers, with session recording and password vaulting. Which solution is best suited?

Hard
49

Which of the following is a process that ensures users periodically confirm they still need access to systems and data?

Easy
50

In LDAP, which attribute uniquely identifies an entry within the directory information tree?

Medium
51

A financial services firm is deploying a customer-facing mobile banking app and wants to delegate limited access to account balances and transaction history to third-party budgeting apps without sharing the customer's banking credentials. The security architect must select controls that implement this delegation securely. (Choose two.)

Medium
52

A financial institution requires that no single employee can approve a transaction and also reconcile the account. This is an example of which security principle?

Medium
53

A security analyst is reviewing access rights and discovers an active account belonging to a former employee who left six months ago. This is an example of:

Medium

Frequently asked questions

What does the Identity and Access Management domain cover on the CISSP exam?
Map each scenario to the correct identity control: identify the attack (golden ticket, pass-the-hash), select the access model matching the described ownership, and choose the OAuth grant fitting the client type. The single most important thing: separate authentication from authorization before answering.
How many questions are in this domain?
This page lists all 53 Identity and Access Management questions in the CISSP question bank. The actual exam draws from this domain proportionally to its weighting in the official exam blueprint.
What is the best way to practise this domain?
Start with a short focused session (10 questions) to identify gaps, then work through explanations. Repeat with a longer session once the weak areas feel solid.
Can I practise only Identity and Access Management questions?
Yes — the session launcher on this page filters questions to this domain only. Choose any session length for inline explanations and scoring.
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