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SSCP Practice Question: They can now access files in a shared drive that…
A user reports they can now access files in a shared drive that were previously denied. Upon investigation, the IT team discovers the user was added to a new group that has read/write permissions to the drive. This situation is best described as:
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse privilege creep with role explosion, but privilege creep focuses on individual permission accumulation over time, while role explosion is about an excessive number of roles in the system design.
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
✓
Privilege creep
Privilege creep occurs when users accumulate more permissions over time than they need for their current role, often through group memberships. In this scenario, the user was added to a new group that granted read/write access to a shared drive, resulting in unintended elevated access. This is a classic example of privilege creep because the user's access rights expanded beyond what was originally authorized, violating the principle of least privilege.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Separation of duties violation
Why it's wrong here
Separation of duties prevents a single person from performing conflicting actions; there is no conflict mentioned.
- ✗
Inconsistent access control list
Why it's wrong here
An inconsistent ACL might allow unintended access, but the root cause here is group membership change, not ACL inconsistency.
- ✗
Role explosion
Why it's wrong here
Role explosion refers to an excessive number of roles, not a single user gaining access through group addition.
- ✓
Privilege creep
Why this is correct
The user gained additional permissions through group membership, which is a classic example of privilege creep.
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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.