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.
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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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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?
Hard2Which access control model assigns permissions based on a user's job function?
Easy3A security policy requires that a user cannot have both the ability to create purchase orders and approve invoices. This is an example of:
Medium4A security analyst is performing an access review. Which THREE of the following are best practices for user access recertification? (Choose three.)
Hard5Which TWO of the following are examples of Type 3 authentication factors? (Choose two.)
Easy6A security analyst is reviewing access controls for a financial application. Which TWO of the following are considered best practices for preventing fraud? (Select TWO.)
Medium7In SAML 2.0, which component is responsible for authenticating the user and generating an assertion?
Medium8Which TWO of the following are OAuth 2.0 grant types? (Choose two.)
Medium9Which access control model bases decisions on attributes of the user, resource, and environment, and can use Boolean logic to define policies?
Hard10An 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?
Medium11Which authentication factor type is a smart card?
Easy12OpenID Connect (OIDC) extends OAuth 2.0 primarily by adding which capability?
Medium13A 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?
Hard14In an OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow with PKCE, what is the primary purpose of the code verifier and code challenge?
Medium15A 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?
Medium16During 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?
Hard17An 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?
Hard18A security administrator is reviewing potential risks associated with orphaned accounts. Which TWO of the following are risks of orphaned accounts?
Medium19A 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?
Medium20Which of the following is an example of a Type 1 authentication factor?
Easy21An 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:
Hard22In OAuth 2.0, which grant type is recommended for a native mobile application that cannot securely store a client secret, and uses PKCE?
Hard23In a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution, which feature provides temporary elevation of privileges for specific tasks, reducing the risk of standing privileges?
Medium24Which TWO of the following are characteristics of a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution? (Choose two.)
Medium25An organization is implementing a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution. Which THREE of the following are common features of PAM? (Select THREE.)
Hard26Which THREE of the following are components of a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution?
Medium27Which of the following is an example of a Type 2 authentication factor?
Easy28A 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?
Medium29Which access control model allows the owner of a resource to determine who can access it and what permissions they have?
Hard30In Kerberos authentication, what is the purpose of the Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT)?
Medium31An LDAP distinguished name (DN) includes the attribute 'CN=John Doe,OU=Sales,DC=company,DC=com'. What does 'CN' stand for?
Medium32Which TWO of the following are differences between OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect (OIDC)?
Hard33An 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?
Medium34An 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?
Hard35Which protocol is specifically designed for authorization and not authentication, often using grant types like authorization code and client credentials?
Easy36In Kerberos authentication, which component issues a Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) after verifying the user's credentials?
Medium37In LDAP, what does the Distinguished Name (DN) uniquely identify?
Easy38Which principle ensures that a user is granted only the permissions necessary to perform their job functions?
Easy39A 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?
Hard40An organization implements Privileged Access Management (PAM) and wants to reduce the risk of standing privileges. Which approach grants temporary elevated access only when needed?
Hard41Which of the following is a lightweight directory access protocol used for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information?
Easy42A financial application requires two employees to authorize a wire transfer. Which principle does this implement?
Medium43An organization is implementing OpenID Connect (OIDC) for authentication. Which THREE of the following are components of OIDC? (Choose three.)
Hard44An employee leaves the company, and their user account is not disabled. This creates a security risk known as:
Medium45Which OAuth 2.0 grant type is recommended for a public client (e.g., single-page application) that cannot securely store a client secret?
Medium46An 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?
Hard47In the context of identity management, which TWO of the following are risks associated with orphaned accounts? (Choose two.)
Medium48An organization wants to provide just-in-time administrative access to servers, with session recording and password vaulting. Which solution is best suited?
Hard49Which of the following is a process that ensures users periodically confirm they still need access to systems and data?
Easy50In LDAP, which attribute uniquely identifies an entry within the directory information tree?
Medium51A 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.)
Medium52A financial institution requires that no single employee can approve a transaction and also reconcile the account. This is an example of which security principle?
Medium53A 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:
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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.