CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) Question 47

A recent assessment identified that several users’ mobile devices are running outdated versions of endpoint security software that do not meet the company’s security policy. Which of the following should be performed to ensure the users can access the network and meet the company’s security requirements?

A. Vulnerability assessment
B. Risk assessment
C. Patch management
D. Device quarantine
E. Incident management

Correct Answer: C

CompTIA Security+ Question L-18

Which of the following describes the process of removing unnecessary accounts and services from an application to reduce risk exposure?

A. Error and exception handling
B. Application hardening
C. Application patch management
D. Cross-site script prevention

Answer: B

Explanation:
Hardening is the process of securing a system by reducing its surface of vulnerability. Reducing the surface of vulnerability typically includes removing unnecessary functions and features, removing unnecessary usernames or logins and disabling unnecessary services.

CompTIA Security+ Question K-18

Which of the following is the term for a fix for a known software problem?

A. Skiff
B. Patch
C. Slipstream
D. Upgrade

Answer: B

Explanation:
Patch management is the process of maintaining the latest source code for applications and operating systems by applying the latest vendor updates. This helps protect a systems from newly discovered attacks and vulnerabilities.

CompTIA Security+ Question J-93

A recently installed application update caused a vital application to crash during the middle of the
workday. The application remained down until a previous version could be reinstalled on the server, and this resulted in a significant loss of data and revenue.
Which of the following could BEST prevent this issue from occurring again?

A. Application configuration baselines
B. Application hardening
C. Application access controls
D. Application patch management

Answer: D

Explanation:
Patch management is the process of maintaining the latest source code for applications and operating systems by applying the latest vendor updates. This helps protect a systems from newly discovered attacks and vulnerabilities. A part of patch management is testing the effects of vendor updates on a test system first to ensure that the updates do not have detrimental effects on the system, and, should the updates have no detrimental effects on the test systems, backing up the production systems before applying the updates on a production system.

CompTIA Security+ Question J-6

Which of the following is an application security coding problem?

A. Error and exception handling
B. Patch management
C. Application hardening
D. Application fuzzing

Answer: A

Explanation:
Exception handling is an aspect of secure coding. When errors occur, the system should revert back to a secure state. This must be coded into the system by the programmer, and should capture errors and exceptions so that they could be handled by the application.

CompTIA Security+ Question I-91

A network administrator is responsible for securing applications against external attacks. Every month, the underlying operating system is updated. There is no process in place for other software updates.
Which of the following processes could MOST effectively mitigate these risks?

A. Application hardening
B. Application change management
C. Application patch management
D. Application firewall review

Answer: C

Explanation:
The question states that operating system updates are applied but not other software updates. The ‘other software’ in this case would be applications. Software updates includes functionality updates and more importantly security updates. The process of applying software updates or ‘patches’ to applications is known as ‘application patch management’. Application patch management is an effective way of mitigating security risks associated with software applications.

CompTIA Security+ Question I-57

Which of the following would Jane, an administrator, use to detect an unknown security vulnerability?

A. Patch management
B. Application fuzzing
C. ID badge
D. Application configuration baseline

Answer: B

Explanation:
Fuzzing is a software testing technique that involves providing invalid, unexpected, or random data to as inputs to a computer program. The program is then monitored for exceptions such as crashes, or failed validation, or memory leaks.

CompTIA Security+ Question I-40

Which of the following practices is used to mitigate a known security vulnerability?

A. Application fuzzing
B. Patch management
C. Password cracking
D. Auditing security logs

Answer: B

Explanation:
Patch management is the process of maintaining the latest source code for applications and operating systems by applying the latest vendor updates. This helps protect a systems from new attacks and vulnerabilities that have recently become known.

CompTIA Security+ Question I-22

A Human Resources user is issued a virtual desktop typically assigned to Accounting employees. A system administrator wants to disable certain services and remove the local accounting groups installed by default on this virtual machine. The system administrator is adhering to which of the following security best practices?

A. Black listing applications
B. Operating System hardening
C. Mandatory Access Control
D. Patch Management

Answer: B

Explanation:
Operating System hardening is the process of securing the operating system by reducing its surface of vulnerability. Reducing the surface of vulnerability typically includes removing unnecessary functions and features, removing unnecessary usernames or logins and disabling unnecessary services.

CompTIA Security+ Question I-21

Which of the following techniques can be used to prevent the disclosure of system information resulting from arbitrary inputs when implemented properly?

A. Fuzzing
B. Patch management
C. Error handling
D. Strong passwords

Answer: C

Explanation:
Exception handling is an aspect of secure coding. When errors occur, the system should revert back to a secure state. This must be coded into the system by the programmer, and should capture errors and exceptions so that they could be handled by the application.