EX294 Implement advanced Ansible automation Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are correct about Ansible Vault?
⚠ Common exam trap
In the RHCE exam, candidates often assume vault encryption is irreversible or that it can encrypt only specific values within a file, confusing it with `ansible-vault encrypt_string` which encrypts a single string, not partial file encryption.
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 vault password can be provided via the '--vault-password-file' option
The `--vault-password-file` option allows Ansible to read the vault password from a file, which is a standard method for providing the password non-interactively, especially in automation scripts or CI/CD pipelines. This avoids the need for manual password entry and supports secure password management.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
vault encryption is irreversible
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: encrypted files can be decrypted with the correct password.
- ✗
vault encrypted files cannot be edited in place
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: 'ansible-vault edit' allows editing encrypted files.
- ✓
the vault password can be provided via the '--vault-password-file' option
Why this is correct
Correct: this is a common way to automate vault decryption.
- ✗
vault can encrypt only specific variable values within a file
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect: vault encrypts entire files; individual variables require !vault tags, not vault encryption itself.
- ✓
the vault id can be specified to use multiple vault passwords
Why this is correct
Correct: vault ids allow multiple passwords for different files.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This EX294 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Red Hat 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 EX294 exam.