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SSCP Practice Question: A company implements mandatory access control…
A company implements mandatory access control (MAC) on its classified document system. A user with a security clearance of Secret attempts to read a document labeled Top Secret. What happens?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse MAC with discretionary access control (DAC), where a user might be able to request temporary access or have permissions changed by the owner, but in MAC, all access decisions are system-enforced and cannot be overridden by users.
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
✓
The access is denied by the system
In a mandatory access control (MAC) system, access decisions are based on comparing the user's security clearance (Secret) with the document's classification label (Top Secret). Since the clearance level is lower than the document's classification, the system automatically denies the read operation. This is a fundamental property of MAC, where the system enforces the Bell-LaPadula model's simple security property (no read up).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The user is prompted to request a temporary upgrade
Why it's wrong here
MAC does not allow temporary upgrades; labels are fixed.
- ✓
The access is denied by the system
Why this is correct
MAC denies any access that violates the lattice.
- ✗
The document is downgraded to Secret for the user
Why it's wrong here
Downgrading requires a security officer, not automatic.
- ✗
The user can read the document because they have a valid clearance
Why it's wrong here
Secret is lower than Top Secret; no read up is allowed.
Quick reference
Access Control Model Comparison
| Model | Acronym | Who Controls Access? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discretionary Access Control | DAC | Resource owner | Small teams, file shares |
| Mandatory Access Control | MAC | System / security labels | Classified govt / military |
| Role-Based Access Control | RBAC | Administrator (via roles) | Enterprise environments |
| Attribute-Based Access Control | ABAC | Policy engine (user + resource attributes) | Fine-grained, dynamic policies |
| Rule-Based Access Control | RuBAC | System rules / ACLs | Firewall rules, network ACLs |
Go deeper
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SSCP 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 SSCP exam.