CompTIA CS0-003 Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

CompTIA CS0-003 Online Questions & Answers

• Question 381:

  Executives at an organization email sensitive financial information to external business partners when negotiating valuable contracts. To ensure the legal validity of these messages, the cybersecurity team recommends a digital signature be added to emails sent by the executives.

  Which of the following are the primary goals of this recommendation? (Select two).

  A. Confidentiality
  B. Integrity
  C. Privacy
  D. Anonymity
  E. Non-repudiation
  F. Authorization
  B. Integrity
  E. Non-repudiation

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  Explanation

  Digital signatures ensure the integrity and non-repudiation of emails. Integrity ensures that the message has not been altered in transit, as the digital signature would be invalidated if the content were tampered with. Non-repudiation ensures that the sender cannot deny having sent the email, as the digital signature is unique to their identity. These principles are crucial for legal validity, as recommended by CompTIA Security+ standards. Confidentiality (A) and privacy (C) relate to encryption, while authorization (F) and anonymity (D) are unrelated to the primary purpose of digital signatures in this context.

• Question 382:

  K company has recently experienced a security breach via a public-facing service. Analysis of the event on the server was traced back to the following piece of code:

  SELECT ' From userjdata WHERE Username = 0 and userid8 1 or 1=1;--

  Which of the following controls would be best to implement?

  A. Deploy a wireless application protocol.
  B. Remove the end-of-life component.
  C. Implement proper access control.
  D. Validate user input.
  D. Validate user input.

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  Explanation

  The code snippet provided suggests an SQL injection vulnerability, indicated by the use of "1=1," which is a common SQL injection technique to bypass authentication. To mitigate this risk, validating user input is the most effective control, as it ensures that any input is properly sanitized and escapes potentially malicious characters before interacting with the database. This is a key principle from CompTIA Security+ guidelines on secure coding practices. Options A and B are unrelated to the vulnerability type here, and while access control (Option C) is generally good practice, it does not specifically prevent SQL injection.

• Question 383:

  A security analyst discovers the accounting department is hosting an accounts receivable form on a public document service. Anyone with the link can access it.

  Which of the following threats applies to this situation?

  A. Potential data loss to external users
  B. Loss of public/private key management
  C. Cloud-based authentication attack
  D. Identification and authentication failures
  A. Potential data loss to external users

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  Explanation

  Potential data loss to external users is a threat that applies to this situation, where the accounting department is hosting an accounts receivable form on a public document service. Anyone with the link can access it. Data loss is an event that results in the destruction, corruption, or unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential data. Data loss can occur due to various reasons, such as human error, hardware failure, malware infection, or cyberattack. In this case, hosting an accounts receivable form on a public document service exposes the data to potential data loss to external users who may access it without authorization or maliciously modify or delete it .

• Question 384:

  A security analyst needs to recommend a solution that will allow users at a company to access cloud-based SaaS services but also prevent them from uploading and exfiltrating data.

  Which of the following solutions should the security analyst recommend?

  A. CASB
  B. MFA
  C. VPN
  D. VPS
  E. DLP
  A. CASB

• Question 385:

  As a proactive threat-hunting technique, hunters must develop situational cases based on likely attack scenarios derived from the available threat intelligence information.

  After forming the basis of the scenario, which of the following may the threat hunter construct to establish a framework for threat assessment?

  A. Critical asset list
  B. Threat vector
  C. Attack profile
  D. Hypothesis
  D. Hypothesis

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  Explanation

  A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by threat hunters to establish a framework for threat assessment. A hypothesis is based on situational awareness and threat intelligence information, and describes a possible attack scenario that may affect the organization. A hypothesis can help to guide threat hunters in their investigation by providing a clear and specific question to ans" there any evidence of lateral"

  https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/tech-center/threat-hunting-hypothesisdevelopment/

• Question 386:

  Which of the following documents should link to the recovery point objectives and recovery time objectives on critical services?

  A. Disaster recovery plan
  B. Business impact analysis
  C. Playbook
  D. Backup plan
  A. Disaster recovery plan

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  Explanation

  Most Voted: B

• Question 387:

  A managed security service provider is having difficulty retaining talent due to an increasing workload caused by a client doubling the number of devices connected to the network.

  Which of the following would best aid in decreasing the workload without increasing staff?

  A. SIEM
  B. XDR
  C. SOAR
  D. EDR
  C. SOAR

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  Explanation

  SOAR stands for Security Orchestration, Automation and Response, which is a set of features that can help security teams manage, prioritize and respond to security incidents more efficiently and effectively. SOAR can help decrease the workload without increasing staff by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining workflows, integrating different tools and platforms, and providing actionable insights and recommendations. SOAR is also one of the current trends that CompTIA CySA+ covers in its exam objectives. Official

  References:

  https://www.comptia.org/blog/the-new-comptia-cybersecurity-analyst-your-questions-answeredhttps://www.comptia.org/certifications/cybersecurity-analysthttps://partners.comptia.org/docs/default-source/resources/comptia-cysa-cs0-002-exam-objectives

• Question 388:

  While reviewing the web server logs a security analyst notices the following snippet ..\../..\..

  /boot.ini Which of the following is being attempted?

  A. Directory traversal
  B. Remote file inclusion
  C. Cross-site scripting
  D. Remote code execution
  E. Enumeration of/etc/pasawd
  A. Directory traversal

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  Explanation

  The log entry "......\boot.ini" is indicative of a directory traversal attack, where an attacker attempts to access files and directories that are stored outside the web root folder. The log snippet "......\boot.ini" is indicative of a directory traversal attack. This type of attack aims to access files and directories that are stored outside the web root folder. By manipulating variables that reference files with "../" (dot-dot-slash), the attacker may be able to access arbitrary files and directories stored on the file system.

• Question 389:

  A company has a primary control in place to restrict access to a sensitive database. However, the company discovered an authentication vulnerability that could bypass this control.

  Which of the following is the best compensating control?

  A. Running regular penetration tests to identify and address new vulnerabilities
  B. Conducting regular security awareness training of employees to prevent social engineering attacks
  C. Deploying an additional layer of access controls to verify authorized individuals
  D. Implementing intrusion detection software to alert security teams of unauthorized access attempts
  C. Deploying an additional layer of access controls to verify authorized individuals

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  Explanation

  Deploying an additional layer of access controls to verify authorized individuals is the best compensating control for the authentication vulnerability that could bypass the primary control. A compensating control is a security measure that is implemented to mitigate the risk of a vulnerability or a threat when the primary control is not sufficient or feasible. A compensating control should provide a similar or greater level of protection as the primary control, and should be closely related to the vulnerability or the threat it is addressing 1. In this case, the primary control is to restrict access to a sensitive database, and the vulnerability is an authentication bypass. Therefore, the best compensating control is to deploy an additional layer of access controls, such as multifactor authentication, role-based access control, or encryption, to verify the identity and the authorization of the individuals who are accessing the database. This way, the compensating control can prevent unauthorized access to the database, even if the primary control is bypassed 23. Running regular penetration tests, conducting regular security awareness training, and implementing intrusion detection software are all good security practices, but they are not compensating controls for the authentication vulnerability, as they do not provide a similar or greater level of protection as the primary control, and they are not closely related to the vulnerability or the threat they are addressing.

  References:

  Compensating Controls: An Impermanent Solution to an IT ... - Tripwire, What is Multifactor Authentication (MFA)? | Duo Security, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Role-Based Security, [What is a Penetration Test and How Does It Work?]

• Question 390:

  A security analyst reviews the latest vulnerability scans and observes there are vulnerabilities with similar CVSSv3 scores but different base score metrics.

  Which of the following attack vectors should the analyst remediate first?

  A. CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  B. CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  C. CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  D. CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  C. CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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  Explanation

  CVSS 3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H is the attack vector that the analyst should remediate first, as it has the highest CVSSv3 score of 8.1. CVSSv3 (Common Vulnerability Scoring System version 3) is a standard framework for rating the severity of vulnerabilities, based on various metrics that reflect the characteristics and impact of the vulnerability. The CVSSv3 score is calculated from three groups of metrics: Base, Temporal, and Environmental. The Base metrics are mandatory and reflect the intrinsic qualities of the vulnerability, such as how it can be exploited, what privileges are required, and what impact it has on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The Temporal metrics are optional and reflect the current state of the vulnerability, such as whether there is a known exploit, a patch, or a workaround. The Environmental metrics are also optional and reflect the context of the vulnerability in a specific environment, such as how it affects the asset value, security requirements, or mitigating controls. The Base metrics produce a score ranging from 0 to 10, which can then be modified by scoring the Temporal and Environmental metrics. A CVSS score is also represented as a vector string, a compressed textual representation of the values used to derive the score. The attack vector in question has the following Base metrics:

  Attack Vector (AV): Network (N). This means that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely over a network connection.

  Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L). This means that the attack does not require any special conditions or changes to the configuration of the target system.

  Privileges Required (PR): Low (L). This means that the attacker needs some privileges on the target system to exploit the vulnerability, such as user-level access.

  User Interaction (UI): None (N). This means that the attack does not require any user action or involvement to succeed.

  Scope (S): Unchanged (U). This means that the impact of the vulnerability is confined to the same security authority as the vulnerable component, such as an application or an operating system. Confidentiality Impact ? High (H). This means that the vulnerability results in a total loss of confidentiality, such as unauthorized disclosure of all data on the system. Integrity Impact (I): High (H). This means that the vulnerability results in a total loss of integrity, such as unauthorized modification or deletion of all data on the system. Availability Impact (A): High (H). This means that the vulnerability results in a total loss of availability, such as denial of service or system crash. Using these metrics, we can calculate the Base score using this formula: Base Score = Roundup(Minimum[(Impact + Exploitability), 10]) Where: Impact = 6.42 x [1 - ((1 - Confidentiality) x (1 - Integrity) x (1 - Availability))] Exploitability = 8.22 x Attack Vector x Attack Complexity x Privileges Required x User Interaction Using this formula, we get:

  Impact = 6.42 x [1 - ((1 - 0.56) x (1 - 0.56) x (1 - 0.56))] = 5.9 Exploitability = 8.22 x 0.85 x 0.77 x 0.62 x 0.85 = 2.8 Base Score = Roundup(Minimum[(5.9 + 2.8), 10]) = Roundup(8.7) = 8.8 Therefore, this attack vector has a Base score of 8.8, which is higher than any other option. The other attack vectors have lower Base scores, as they have different values for some of the Base metrics: CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H has a Base score of 6.2, as it has a lower value for Attack Vector (Physical), which means that the vulnerability can only be exploited by having physical access to the target system. CVSS:3.0/ AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H has a Base score of 7.4, as it has a lower value for Attack Vector (Adjacent Network), which means that the vulnerability can only be exploited by being on the same physical or logical network as the target system.

  CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H has a Base score of 6.8, as it has a lower value for Attack Vector (Local), which means that the vulnerability can only be exploited by having local access to the target system, such as through a terminal or a command shell.