SSCP Systems and Application Security Practice Question
An organization is experiencing VM sprawl, with many unmanaged virtual machines running in the environment. Which of the following is the most significant security risk associated with VM sprawl?
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
✓
Unpatched and misconfigured VMs
Unmanaged VMs often lack proper patching and configuration management, leading to unpatched vulnerabilities that can be exploited.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Unpatched and misconfigured VMs
Why this is correct
Unmanaged VMs are often forgotten, leading to security gaps.
- ✗
License compliance violations
Why it's wrong here
Licensing shortfalls are a financial and audit exposure, not a security one; the security risk is that unmanaged VMs escape patch management, antivirus coverage and change control. It tempts because sprawl does cause genuine licence over-deployment, making software asset management the right discipline when the question concerns compliance cost rather than threat exposure.
- ✗
Increased power consumption and cooling costs
Why it's wrong here
Power and cooling are operational cost concerns, not security exposures; unmanaged VMs remain the risk because they sit outside patching, monitoring and configuration baselines. It tempts because sprawl genuinely inflates datacentre energy bills, so capacity or cost-optimisation exercises would legitimately flag it — but the stem asks for the security risk.
- ✗
VM escape attacks from older hypervisors
Why it's wrong here
VM escape requires a hypervisor vulnerability and is not caused by sprawl; the actual risk is unmanaged VMs lacking patching, hardening and monitoring. It tempts because escape is the headline virtualisation threat, so it would be the answer if the stem described an unpatched hypervisor or a known breakout CVE.
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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.