The best course of action is to implement compensating controls and schedule patching at the next available maintenance window. This approach directly addresses risk management for unpatched critical applications by deploying layered defenses—such as network segmentation, web application firewall rules, or host-based intrusion prevention—to reduce the immediate threat exposure while the application remains online. On the CISSP exam, this scenario tests your grasp of risk treatment and the principle of balancing security with business continuity, a core domain of the Certified Information Systems Security Professional certification. A common trap is to choose an option that either takes the application offline immediately or ignores the risk entirely; the correct path always prioritizes operational uptime through temporary safeguards. Remember the mnemonic “Patch Later, Protect Now” to recall that compensating controls buy time for a scheduled, tested patch deployment.
CISSP Security Assessment and Testing Practice Question
This CISSP practice question tests your understanding of security assessment and testing. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
During an internal audit, an organization discovers that a critical application has not been patched for six months. The application is business-critical and cannot be taken offline during business hours. Which of the following is the best course of action?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Implement compensating controls and schedule patching at the next available maintenance window
Option A is correct because compensating controls (e.g., network segmentation, WAF rules, or host-based IPS) reduce the immediate risk while the critical application remains online. Scheduling patching for the next maintenance window aligns with change management and ensures the patch is tested and applied without disrupting business operations. This balances security needs with operational continuity, a core principle of risk management.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Implement compensating controls and schedule patching at the next available maintenance window
Why this is correct
Compensating controls mitigate risk until the patch can be applied safely during a planned outage.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Accept the risk and continue operations
Why it's wrong here
Accepting risk without mitigation is not appropriate for a critical vulnerability.
✗
Apply the patch immediately during off-hours even if it risks downtime
Why it's wrong here
This may cause unplanned downtime if the patch fails, and off-hours may not be sufficient.
✗
Disconnect the application until it is patched
Why it's wrong here
Disconnecting a business-critical application would cause significant operational impact.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may choose immediate patching (Option C) thinking it is the most secure action, but the CISSP exam emphasizes balancing security with business continuity and following proper change management procedures.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Compensating controls for an unpatched application might include deploying a virtual patching rule via a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to block exploit traffic at Layer 7, or using host-based intrusion prevention (HIPS) to detect and block known attack patterns. The maintenance window should follow a formal change management process (e.g., ITIL) where the patch is tested in a staging environment first, then applied during a scheduled outage window with rollback procedures. In real-world scenarios, organizations often use a risk register to track such vulnerabilities and apply compensating controls until the next patch cycle, ensuring compliance with frameworks like PCI DSS or NIST SP 800-53.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A security team runs a vulnerability scan on a web application and discovers an unpatched SQL injection flaw. The team prioritises remediation by CVSS score — critical flaws are patched within 24 hours, high within 7 days. Questions like this test whether you understand vulnerability management processes, scanning tools, and remediation prioritisation.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CISSP question in full detail.
Security Assessment and Testing — This question tests Security Assessment and Testing — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement compensating controls and schedule patching at the next available maintenance window — Option A is correct because compensating controls (e.g., network segmentation, WAF rules, or host-based IPS) reduce the immediate risk while the critical application remains online. Scheduling patching for the next maintenance window aligns with change management and ensures the patch is tested and applied without disrupting business operations. This balances security needs with operational continuity, a core principle of risk management.
What should I do if I get this CISSP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A security analyst notes that a recent penetration test successfully exploited a vulnerability in a legacy application that cannot be patched. The analyst recommends implementing network segmentation to limit the application's exposure. This recommendation is an example of:
hard
✓ A.Risk mitigation
B.Risk acceptance
C.Risk avoidance
D.Risk transfer
Why A: Implementing network segmentation to limit exposure of an unpatched legacy application is a classic example of risk mitigation. By isolating the application on a separate network segment (e.g., using VLANs or firewall rules), the analyst reduces the likelihood or impact of a successful exploit, even though the underlying vulnerability remains unpatched. This directly aligns with the CISSP definition of risk mitigation: applying controls to reduce risk to an acceptable level.
Variation 2. A company's security team discovers that a critical web application has a SQL injection vulnerability. However, the team is unable to remediate it immediately due to a dependency on a third-party component. Which of the following is the BEST approach to manage the risk while awaiting a patch?
hard
✓ A.Accept the risk and implement compensating controls like input validation at the network layer
B.Deploy a web application firewall with a rule to block SQL injection patterns
C.Increase logging and monitoring of the application
D.Disable the vulnerable feature entirely
Why A: Option A is correct because when a vulnerability cannot be patched immediately, compensating controls are the best risk management approach. Implementing input validation at the network layer (e.g., via a web application firewall or network-based IPS) can block SQL injection patterns before they reach the vulnerable application, reducing the likelihood of exploitation without requiring changes to the third-party component.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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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.
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