CISSP Cybersecurity Certification Sample Test

Try 5 free practice questions with instant feedback. See how ready you are.

Loading quiz...

Sample Questions

Question 1

What is the primary difference between a vulnerability assessment and a penetration test?

Answer: A vulnerability assessment identifies and reports potential weaknesses without exploiting them, while a penetration test actively exploits vulnerabilities to demonstrate real-world impact.

Question 2

What does a false positive represent in the context of vulnerability scanning?

Answer: A false positive occurs when a scanner reports a vulnerability that does not actually exist on the target system, requiring manual verification to confirm.

Question 3

What is the purpose of a credentialed (authenticated) vulnerability scan compared to an unauthenticated scan?

Answer: A credentialed scan uses valid system credentials to log in and assess the system from the inside, providing more thorough and accurate results including patch levels and misconfigurations, while an unauthenticated scan only sees what an outsider would.

Question 4

Which vulnerability scoring system is most commonly referenced in CISSP materials for rating the severity of discovered vulnerabilities?

Answer: The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is the standard used to rate vulnerability severity on a scale of 0–10, considering factors like exploitability, impact, and scope.

Question 5

What is a passive vulnerability assessment technique?

Answer: A passive technique involves monitoring and analyzing network traffic or system logs to identify vulnerabilities without sending any probe packets to the target, avoiding disruption.