WGU D487 Secure Software Design Exam – 250
Questions with Answers & Explanations | Latest 2026
Objective Assessment Prep Guide
description
WGU D487 Secure Software Design Exam – Latest 2026 prep with 250 multiple-choice
questions, verified answers, and detailed explanations. Covers secure design principles,
STRIDE/DREAD/PASTA threat modeling, OWASP Top 10, secure coding, authentication,
authorization, cryptography, security architecture, vulnerability assessment, and
DevSecOps. Perfect for WGU Objective Assessment and guaranteed pass. Instant PDF
download.
SECTION 1: SECURE DESIGN PRINCIPLES (Questions 1–35)
1. A hospital information system allows nurses to view patient records but also
grants them access to the billing modification module. An audit reveals nurses have
never needed to modify billing records. Which principle is violated?
A. Defense in depth
B. Principle of least privilege
C. Economy of mechanism
D. Open design
,Answer: B. The principle of least privilege mandates that subjects receive only the minimum
access necessary to perform their tasks. Nurses who never modify billing records should
not have billing modification access .
2. A system grants access during a directory server failure so users are not locked
out. Which principle requires the system to deny access instead?
A. Principle of least privilege
B. Complete mediation
C. Fail-safe defaults
D. Separation of privilege
Answer: C. Fail-safe defaults dictate that the default access decision must be denial when a
system cannot determine correct permissions. Granting access during failure violates this
principle .
3. A team chooses a well-vetted TLS implementation with three steps over a custom
cryptographic protocol with twelve interdependent steps. Which principle supports
this?
A. Economy of mechanism
B. Defense in breadth
C. Psychological acceptability
D. Open design
Answer: A. Economy of mechanism favors simpler designs over complex ones because
simpler designs are easier to verify, test, and maintain securely .
4. An e-commerce platform relies solely on a perimeter firewall. After a breach, the
team adds a WAF, input validation, and encrypted database connections. Which
principle does this illustrate?
,A. Fail-safe defaults
B. Least common mechanism
C. Defense in depth
D. Psychological acceptability
Answer: C. Defense in depth uses multiple overlapping security controls so that if one layer
fails, additional layers continue to provide protection .
5. Which principle ensures that access is checked every time a subject requests a
resource, rather than relying on cached permissions?
A. Complete mediation
B. Fail-safe defaults
C. Separation of duties
D. Least privilege
Answer: A. Complete mediation requires that every access attempt to every object be
checked for authorization, preventing stale permissions from being exploited .
6. Which principle requires that a security mechanism should not depend on the
secrecy of its design or implementation?
A. Open design
B. Economy of mechanism
C. Least common mechanism
D. Fail-safe defaults
Answer: A. Open design states that security should not rely on secrecy of design. The
security should depend on the key, not the algorithm .
7. A developer embeds a hardcoded password in source code for database access.
Which principle is violated?
, A. Defense in depth
B. Least privilege
C. Fail-safe defaults
D. Secure defaults
Answer: B. Hardcoded credentials violate least privilege because any user with access to
the code can potentially access the database with full credentials .
8. What does the "IAAA" security framework stand for?
A. Identity, Authentication, Authorization, Accounting
B. Integrity, Availability, Authentication, Auditing
C. Identity, Access, Authorization, Auditing
D. Integrity, Authentication, Authorization, Availability
Answer: A. IAAA stands for Identification, Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting. It
describes the process of verifying identity, granting permissions, and tracking actions .
9. A security architect separates administrative duties so no single person can
deploy to production without review. Which principle is applied?
A. Least privilege
B. Separation of duties
C. Defense in depth
D. Fail-safe defaults
Answer: B. Separation of duties ensures that no single person has complete control over a
critical function, reducing insider threat and error risk .
10. The "Attack Surface" refers to:
A. The total number of vulnerabilities in an application
B. The sum of all points where an attacker can try to enter or extract data
Questions with Answers & Explanations | Latest 2026
Objective Assessment Prep Guide
description
WGU D487 Secure Software Design Exam – Latest 2026 prep with 250 multiple-choice
questions, verified answers, and detailed explanations. Covers secure design principles,
STRIDE/DREAD/PASTA threat modeling, OWASP Top 10, secure coding, authentication,
authorization, cryptography, security architecture, vulnerability assessment, and
DevSecOps. Perfect for WGU Objective Assessment and guaranteed pass. Instant PDF
download.
SECTION 1: SECURE DESIGN PRINCIPLES (Questions 1–35)
1. A hospital information system allows nurses to view patient records but also
grants them access to the billing modification module. An audit reveals nurses have
never needed to modify billing records. Which principle is violated?
A. Defense in depth
B. Principle of least privilege
C. Economy of mechanism
D. Open design
,Answer: B. The principle of least privilege mandates that subjects receive only the minimum
access necessary to perform their tasks. Nurses who never modify billing records should
not have billing modification access .
2. A system grants access during a directory server failure so users are not locked
out. Which principle requires the system to deny access instead?
A. Principle of least privilege
B. Complete mediation
C. Fail-safe defaults
D. Separation of privilege
Answer: C. Fail-safe defaults dictate that the default access decision must be denial when a
system cannot determine correct permissions. Granting access during failure violates this
principle .
3. A team chooses a well-vetted TLS implementation with three steps over a custom
cryptographic protocol with twelve interdependent steps. Which principle supports
this?
A. Economy of mechanism
B. Defense in breadth
C. Psychological acceptability
D. Open design
Answer: A. Economy of mechanism favors simpler designs over complex ones because
simpler designs are easier to verify, test, and maintain securely .
4. An e-commerce platform relies solely on a perimeter firewall. After a breach, the
team adds a WAF, input validation, and encrypted database connections. Which
principle does this illustrate?
,A. Fail-safe defaults
B. Least common mechanism
C. Defense in depth
D. Psychological acceptability
Answer: C. Defense in depth uses multiple overlapping security controls so that if one layer
fails, additional layers continue to provide protection .
5. Which principle ensures that access is checked every time a subject requests a
resource, rather than relying on cached permissions?
A. Complete mediation
B. Fail-safe defaults
C. Separation of duties
D. Least privilege
Answer: A. Complete mediation requires that every access attempt to every object be
checked for authorization, preventing stale permissions from being exploited .
6. Which principle requires that a security mechanism should not depend on the
secrecy of its design or implementation?
A. Open design
B. Economy of mechanism
C. Least common mechanism
D. Fail-safe defaults
Answer: A. Open design states that security should not rely on secrecy of design. The
security should depend on the key, not the algorithm .
7. A developer embeds a hardcoded password in source code for database access.
Which principle is violated?
, A. Defense in depth
B. Least privilege
C. Fail-safe defaults
D. Secure defaults
Answer: B. Hardcoded credentials violate least privilege because any user with access to
the code can potentially access the database with full credentials .
8. What does the "IAAA" security framework stand for?
A. Identity, Authentication, Authorization, Accounting
B. Integrity, Availability, Authentication, Auditing
C. Identity, Access, Authorization, Auditing
D. Integrity, Authentication, Authorization, Availability
Answer: A. IAAA stands for Identification, Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting. It
describes the process of verifying identity, granting permissions, and tracking actions .
9. A security architect separates administrative duties so no single person can
deploy to production without review. Which principle is applied?
A. Least privilege
B. Separation of duties
C. Defense in depth
D. Fail-safe defaults
Answer: B. Separation of duties ensures that no single person has complete control over a
critical function, reducing insider threat and error risk .
10. The "Attack Surface" refers to:
A. The total number of vulnerabilities in an application
B. The sum of all points where an attacker can try to enter or extract data
