WGU D487 SECURE SOFTWARE DESIGN OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT 2026 | COMPLETE EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS | LATEST VERSION

WGU D487 SECURE SOFTWARE DESIGN
OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT 2026 | COMPLETE
EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED CORRECT
ANSWERS | LATEST VERSION
WGU D487 SECURE SOFTWARE DESIGN OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT

COMPLETE EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWER | LATEST
VERSION




QUESTION 1 Which principle states that a user should only be given the minimum level
of access necessary to perform their job function?

A. Separation of Duties B. Defense in Depth C. Least Privilege D. Need to Know E.
Fail Secure

CORRECT ANSWER: C — Least Privilege RATIONALE: The Least Privilege
principle ensures users and systems are granted only the permissions required to
complete their tasks, minimizing the attack surface and reducing damage from
compromise or error.


QUESTION 2 Which of the following BEST describes the CIA Triad in information
security?

A. Compliance, Integrity, Authorization B. Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability C.
Confidentiality, Identity, Authentication D. Control, Integrity, Access E. Compliance,
Identity, Availability

CORRECT ANSWER: B — Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability
RATIONALE: The CIA Triad is the foundational model of information security.
Confidentiality ensures data is accessed only by authorized users; Integrity ensures
data is not tampered with; Availability ensures systems and data are accessible when
needed.



QUESTION 3 What is the primary goal of threat modeling in secure software design?

A. To write unit tests for all software modules B. To identify and prioritize potential
vulnerabilities before development C. To identify, communicate, and address threats

,and mitigations early in the SDLC D. To document all known security incidents E.
To deploy firewalls around the application perimeter

CORRECT ANSWER: C — To identify, communicate, and address threats
and mitigations early in the SDLC RATIONALE: Threat modeling is a proactive
process performed early in the SDLC to systematically identify threats, evaluate their
risk, and plan mitigations before they become costly vulnerabilities in production.


QUESTION 4 Which threat modeling framework uses the categories Spoofing,
Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, and Elevation of
Privilege?

A. PASTA B. VAST C. OCTAVE D. STRIDE E. TRIKE

CORRECT ANSWER: D — STRIDE RATIONALE: STRIDE, developed by
Microsoft, is a mnemonic framework for categorizing threats: Spoofing, Tampering,
Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, and Elevation of Privilege.



QUESTION 5 A developer stores passwords in plain text in the database. Which
security principle is being violated?

A. Availability B. Non-repudiation C. Authorization D. Confidentiality E.
Accountability

CORRECT ANSWER: D — Confidentiality RATIONALE: Storing passwords
in plain text exposes sensitive data if the database is compromised, directly violating
confidentiality — the principle that sensitive information must be protected from
unauthorized access.



QUESTION 6 Which of the following is an example of a passive attack?

A. SQL Injection B. Cross-Site Scripting C. Eavesdropping on network traffic D.
Buffer overflow exploit E. Brute force authentication attack

CORRECT ANSWER: C — Eavesdropping on network traffic
RATIONALE: Passive attacks involve monitoring or intercepting data without altering it.
Eavesdropping captures traffic without modifying it, unlike active attacks that manipulate
data or systems.

,QUESTION 7 Which OWASP Top 10 category refers to flaws that allow attackers to
access data, APIs, functions, or services beyond their intended permissions?

A. Security Misconfiguration B. Cryptographic Failures C. Injection D. Broken Access
Control E. Insecure Design

CORRECT ANSWER: D — Broken Access Control RATIONALE: Broken
Access Control (ranked #1 in OWASP Top 10 2021) occurs when restrictions on
authenticated users are not properly enforced, allowing them to access unauthorized
functionality or data.


QUESTION 8 Which type of SQL injection attack does NOT require a visible error
message or data return to exploit the database?

A. In-band SQLi B. Error-based SQLi C. Union-based SQLi D. Blind SQLi E.
Second-order SQLi

CORRECT ANSWER: D — Blind SQLi RATIONALE: Blind SQL injection
occurs when an application is vulnerable but does not return query results or errors
directly. Attackers infer information based on the application's behavior (true/false or
time delays).



QUESTION 9 What is the BEST defense against SQL injection attacks?

A. Input length restriction B. Encryption of database fields C. Use of stored procedures
only D. Parameterized queries / prepared statements E. Disabling database error
messages

CORRECT ANSWER: D — Parameterized queries / prepared statements
RATIONALE: Parameterized queries separate SQL code from user data, ensuring that
user input is always treated as data and never interpreted as executable SQL, which is
the most effective mitigation against SQLi.


QUESTION 10 Which of the following BEST describes Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)?

A. An attacker intercepts communication between client and server B. An attacker
injects malicious SQL into a web form C. An attacker injects malicious scripts into

, web pages viewed by other users D. An attacker floods a server with requests E.
An attacker exploits weak encryption to decrypt stored data

CORRECT ANSWER: C — An attacker injects malicious scripts into web
pages viewed by other users RATIONALE: XSS allows attackers to inject client-
side scripts into web pages. When victims load those pages, the malicious script
executes in their browser, potentially stealing session cookies, redirecting users, or
performing actions on their behalf.


QUESTION 11 Which type of XSS stores the malicious payload on the server and
serves it to all users who access the affected page?

A. Reflected XSS B. DOM-based XSS C. Stored XSS D. Universal XSS E.
Persistent client-side XSS

CORRECT ANSWER: C — Stored XSS RATIONALE: Stored (Persistent)
XSS occurs when malicious script is permanently stored on the target server (e.g., in a
database or comment field) and served to every user who visits the affected page.



QUESTION 12 What is the primary purpose of a Web Application Firewall (WAF)?

A. To encrypt web traffic between client and server B. To store session tokens securely
C. To manage SSL/TLS certificates D. To filter and monitor HTTP traffic to protect
against web-based attacks E. To authenticate users accessing the application

CORRECT ANSWER: D — To filter and monitor HTTP traffic to protect
against web-based attacks RATIONALE: A WAF inspects HTTP/HTTPS traffic
between a web application and the Internet, filtering malicious requests such as SQLi,
XSS, and CSRF before they reach the application.



QUESTION 13 Which secure design principle ensures that if a system fails, it defaults
to a secure state?

A. Least Privilege B. Defense in Depth C. Separation of Duties D. Open Design E. Fail
Secure (Fail Safe)

CORRECT ANSWER: E — Fail Secure (Fail Safe) RATIONALE: Fail Secure
means that when a system fails or encounters an error, it denies access or defaults to a
locked/safe state rather than an open one, preventing accidental exposure of resources.