The answer is to implement periodic access reviews and attestation. This is the best approach because nested group permissions can silently expand a user’s effective rights far beyond what was intended, violating least privilege when inheritance chains are not regularly validated. A one-time fix or training cannot catch the organic drift that occurs as group memberships change over time, whereas periodic access reviews force data owners to formally attest that each user’s inherited permissions—including those from nested groups—remain appropriate for their current role. On the CISSP exam, this question tests your understanding that identity and access management (IAM) governance is a continuous process, not a static configuration; a common trap is choosing a technical solution like restructuring groups, which ignores the need for ongoing oversight. Remember the mnemonic “Nested Rights Need Reviews” to recall that inherited permissions require periodic attestation to maintain least privilege.
CISSP Identity and Access Management Practice Question
This CISSP practice question tests your understanding of identity and access management. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 audit, it is discovered that several users have inherited permissions through nested group memberships that violate least privilege. What is the best approach to correct this?
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.
Clue: "least"
Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Implement periodic access reviews and attestation
Periodic access reviews and attestation (Option A) are the best approach because they establish a continuous governance process where data owners or managers formally confirm that inherited permissions from nested group memberships remain appropriate. This directly addresses the root cause—unchecked group nesting—by enforcing regular validation of access rights against the principle of least privilege, rather than relying on a one-time fix or training.
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 periodic access reviews and attestation
Why this is correct
Access reviews allow managers to validate and revoke excessive permissions, including inherited ones.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Re-certify group memberships quarterly
Why it's wrong here
Re-certifying groups does not address permissions inherited through nested groups.
✗
Provide training on least privilege
Why it's wrong here
Training raises awareness but does not fix existing violations.
✗
Revoke all group memberships and assign individually
Why it's wrong here
This is disruptive and inefficient; a review process is more targeted.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose a one-time technical fix (like revoking all memberships) or a generic training option, failing to recognize that the CISSP exam emphasizes governance processes like periodic attestation as the sustainable solution for ongoing compliance with least privilege.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In Active Directory or LDAP-based systems, nested groups allow transitive membership resolution via the tokenGroups attribute, which can cause unintended privilege escalation if not carefully managed. For example, a user placed in a 'Sales' group that is nested inside a 'Domain Admins' group inherits full administrative rights, which periodic access reviews with attestation would catch by requiring the domain admin to justify each membership. Real-world implementations often use automated tools like Microsoft Identity Manager or SailPoint to trigger attestation campaigns that compare effective permissions against a baseline, ensuring least privilege is maintained over time.
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 analyst at a medium-sized enterprise encounters this scenario during an investigation or architecture review. The correct answer reflects best practice for the specific threat or control described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Security exam questions test whether you can match controls to threats in context — not just recall definitions.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CISSP question in full detail.
Identity and Access Management — This question tests Identity and Access Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Implement periodic access reviews and attestation — Periodic access reviews and attestation (Option A) are the best approach because they establish a continuous governance process where data owners or managers formally confirm that inherited permissions from nested group memberships remain appropriate. This directly addresses the root cause—unchecked group nesting—by enforcing regular validation of access rights against the principle of least privilege, rather than relying on a one-time fix or training.
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", "least". 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.
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Question Discussion
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