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SSCP Practice Question: An administrator reports that a TLS handshake…
An administrator reports that a TLS handshake fails between a web server and client. The server supports TLS 1.2 with ciphers ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 and RSA-AES256-CBC-SHA256. The client supports only TLS 1.0 with ciphers RSA-RC4-SHA and RSA-AES128-SHA. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates see different cipher suites and assume a cipher mismatch (Option D), but the real issue is that the TLS versions are incompatible, which is checked before cipher negotiation.
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
✓
No common TLS version
The TLS handshake fails because the server supports only TLS 1.2, while the client supports only TLS 1.0. During the handshake, the client sends a ClientHello with its highest supported version (1.0), and the server responds with a ServerHello indicating its highest supported version (1.2). Since neither side can downgrade to a mutually supported version, the handshake aborts. This is a version negotiation failure, not a cipher mismatch.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cipher suite order misconfiguration
Why it's wrong here
Even if reordered, no common ciphers due to version.
- ✗
Certificate validation failure
Why it's wrong here
No indication of certificate issues.
- ✓
No common TLS version
Why this is correct
The server supports TLS 1.2 only; client only TLS 1.0.
- ✗
No common cipher suite
Why it's wrong here
Cipher mismatch is an issue but the root is TLS version.
Quick reference
Asymmetric Encryption Algorithm Comparison
| Algorithm | Key Exchange | Signatures | Equivalent Security Key | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSA-3072 | Yes | Yes | 128-bit | Widely deployed; slow for bulk data |
| ECDSA P-256 | No | Yes | 128-bit | Fast signatures; standard TLS certs |
| ECDH / ECDHE | Yes | No | 128-bit | Perfect forward secrecy in TLS 1.3 |
| DH / DHE | Yes | No | 128-bit (3072-bit key) | Replaced by ECDHE in modern TLS |
| Ed25519 | No | Yes | ~128-bit | SSH keys, modern PKI |
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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.