Patch Management & Updates Flashcards
7 cards from real CSA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Patch Management & Updates flashcards as text
A newly released patch is marked 'out-of-band.' What does this indicate?
Answer: It is released outside the normal patch cycle due to urgency
An out-of-band patch is released outside the vendor's regular schedule because the vulnerability is severe enough that waiting for the next cycle would be too risky.
Which of the following BEST describes patch verification after deployment?
Answer: Confirming the patch is installed and the vulnerability is no longer present via scanning
Post-deployment patch verification uses vulnerability scanning or compliance checks to confirm the patch is applied and the specific vulnerability has been remediated.
What is 'patch fatigue' and how does it impact security?
Answer: When staff become overwhelmed by the volume of patches and skip or delay critical ones
Patch fatigue occurs when the volume and frequency of patches overwhelms IT staff, leading to deferred or missed critical updates and increased vulnerability exposure.
An organization operates legacy systems that the vendor no longer supports. Which action BEST manages the patch management risk for these systems?
Answer: Implement compensating controls such as network segmentation and enhanced monitoring
When patches are unavailable for end-of-life systems, compensating controls like network segmentation limit attack surface and monitoring helps detect exploitation.
Which patch management document records all approved and rejected patches along with the rationale?
Answer: Change advisory board (CAB) minutes / change log
The change log or CAB minutes document patch approval decisions and business justifications, providing an audit trail for compliance and accountability.
What is the MAIN reason to test patches in a staging environment before production deployment?
Answer: To detect compatibility issues or stability problems before they affect live operations
Testing in staging catches regressions, incompatibilities, or crashes before the patch reaches production systems where downtime has business impact.
A security team receives threat intelligence that a specific vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild. How should this affect their patching priority?
Answer: It should elevate the priority, potentially triggering emergency patching procedures
Active exploitation in the wild is a key threat intelligence indicator that elevates a vulnerability's real-world risk beyond what the CVSS score alone conveys, warranting emergency treatment.