WGU D487 Secure Software Design Objective
Assessment 2026/2027: Versions A & B –
Actual Exam Questions with Verified
Answers – Graded A+
DOMAIN 1: THREAT MODELING & RISK ASSESSMENT (Questions 1-25)
Q1 [Basic] [Threat Modeling]: In the STRIDE threat modeling methodology, which threat
category corresponds to an attacker gaining higher privileges than intended?
A. Tampering
B. Information Disclosure
C. Denial of Service
D. Elevation of Privilege
Correct Answer: D. Elevation of Privilege
Rationale: Elevation of Privilege occurs when an attacker gains higher access privileges
than they are authorized to have, such as through privilege escalation attacks or
authorization bypass. Tampering (A) involves unauthorized modification of data.
Information Disclosure (B) involves exposure of sensitive data. Denial of Service (C)
involves disrupting service availability. STRIDE is Microsoft's threat classification
framework used throughout the SDL.
,Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Basic
Q2 [Basic] [Threat Modeling]: Which of the following is NOT one of the six STRIDE threat
categories?
A. Spoofing
B. Repudiation
C. Malware Injection
D. Tampering
Correct Answer: C. Malware Injection
Rationale: STRIDE consists of six threat categories: Spoofing (identity), Tampering
(data), Repudiation (denial of action), Information Disclosure (data exposure), Denial of
Service (availability), and Elevation of Privilege (unauthorized access). Malware
Injection is not a STRIDE category, though specific malware techniques might map to
multiple STRIDE categories depending on their mechanism.
Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Basic
Q3 [Intermediate] [Threat Modeling]: What does the acronym DREAD stand for in
Microsoft's risk assessment model?
A. Damage potential, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected users, Discoverability
B. Disclosure, Repudiation, Exploitability, Attack surface, Discoverability
C. Damage potential, Reproducibility, Elevation of privilege, Authentication,
Discoverability
,D. Disclosure, Repudiation, Elevation of privilege, Attack surface, Damage potential
Correct Answer: A. Damage potential, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected users,
Discoverability
Rationale: DREAD is a quantitative risk assessment model used to prioritize threats.
Each factor is rated 0-10: Damage (how bad is the impact?), Reproducibility (how easy
to reproduce?), Exploitability (how easy to attack?), Affected users (how many users
impacted?), and Discoverability (how easy to find?). The total score helps prioritize
remediation efforts. Higher scores indicate higher risk.
Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Intermediate
Q4 [Intermediate] [Threat Modeling]: According to CVSS v3.1 scoring, which severity
level corresponds to a base score of 8.5?
A. Critical
B. High
C. Medium
D. Low
Correct Answer: B. High
Rationale: CVSS severity levels are: Critical (9.0–10.0), High (7.0–8.9), Medium
(4.0–6.9), and Low (0.1–3.9). A score of 8.5 falls in the High range, indicating significant
vulnerability requiring prompt attention but not the most severe possible. Critical
vulnerabilities (9.0+) are typically wormable or have massive impact with minimal
complexity.
, Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Intermediate
Q5 [Advanced] [Threat Modeling]: The software security team is currently working to
identify approaches for input validation, authentication, authorization, and configuration
management of a new software product so they can deliver a security profile. Which
threat modeling step is being described?
A. Rating threats
B. Identifying and documenting threats
C. Analyzing the target
D. Drawing data flow diagram
Correct Answer: C. Analyzing the target
Rationale: Analyzing the target (Step 3 in PASTA or equivalent in other methodologies)
involves understanding the system's architecture, components, and security
mechanisms to identify potential vulnerabilities. This includes evaluating input
validation, authentication methods, authorization controls, and configuration
management approaches before identifying specific threats. Rating threats (A) and
identifying threats (B) occur after analysis. Drawing DFDs (D) is typically an earlier step.
Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Advanced
Q6 [Basic] [Threat Modeling]: Which threat modeling methodology concentrates on each
element of a diagram based on threats common to each type of element?
A. STRIDE-Per-Element
B. STRIDE-Per-Interaction
Assessment 2026/2027: Versions A & B –
Actual Exam Questions with Verified
Answers – Graded A+
DOMAIN 1: THREAT MODELING & RISK ASSESSMENT (Questions 1-25)
Q1 [Basic] [Threat Modeling]: In the STRIDE threat modeling methodology, which threat
category corresponds to an attacker gaining higher privileges than intended?
A. Tampering
B. Information Disclosure
C. Denial of Service
D. Elevation of Privilege
Correct Answer: D. Elevation of Privilege
Rationale: Elevation of Privilege occurs when an attacker gains higher access privileges
than they are authorized to have, such as through privilege escalation attacks or
authorization bypass. Tampering (A) involves unauthorized modification of data.
Information Disclosure (B) involves exposure of sensitive data. Denial of Service (C)
involves disrupting service availability. STRIDE is Microsoft's threat classification
framework used throughout the SDL.
,Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Basic
Q2 [Basic] [Threat Modeling]: Which of the following is NOT one of the six STRIDE threat
categories?
A. Spoofing
B. Repudiation
C. Malware Injection
D. Tampering
Correct Answer: C. Malware Injection
Rationale: STRIDE consists of six threat categories: Spoofing (identity), Tampering
(data), Repudiation (denial of action), Information Disclosure (data exposure), Denial of
Service (availability), and Elevation of Privilege (unauthorized access). Malware
Injection is not a STRIDE category, though specific malware techniques might map to
multiple STRIDE categories depending on their mechanism.
Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Basic
Q3 [Intermediate] [Threat Modeling]: What does the acronym DREAD stand for in
Microsoft's risk assessment model?
A. Damage potential, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected users, Discoverability
B. Disclosure, Repudiation, Exploitability, Attack surface, Discoverability
C. Damage potential, Reproducibility, Elevation of privilege, Authentication,
Discoverability
,D. Disclosure, Repudiation, Elevation of privilege, Attack surface, Damage potential
Correct Answer: A. Damage potential, Reproducibility, Exploitability, Affected users,
Discoverability
Rationale: DREAD is a quantitative risk assessment model used to prioritize threats.
Each factor is rated 0-10: Damage (how bad is the impact?), Reproducibility (how easy
to reproduce?), Exploitability (how easy to attack?), Affected users (how many users
impacted?), and Discoverability (how easy to find?). The total score helps prioritize
remediation efforts. Higher scores indicate higher risk.
Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Intermediate
Q4 [Intermediate] [Threat Modeling]: According to CVSS v3.1 scoring, which severity
level corresponds to a base score of 8.5?
A. Critical
B. High
C. Medium
D. Low
Correct Answer: B. High
Rationale: CVSS severity levels are: Critical (9.0–10.0), High (7.0–8.9), Medium
(4.0–6.9), and Low (0.1–3.9). A score of 8.5 falls in the High range, indicating significant
vulnerability requiring prompt attention but not the most severe possible. Critical
vulnerabilities (9.0+) are typically wormable or have massive impact with minimal
complexity.
, Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Intermediate
Q5 [Advanced] [Threat Modeling]: The software security team is currently working to
identify approaches for input validation, authentication, authorization, and configuration
management of a new software product so they can deliver a security profile. Which
threat modeling step is being described?
A. Rating threats
B. Identifying and documenting threats
C. Analyzing the target
D. Drawing data flow diagram
Correct Answer: C. Analyzing the target
Rationale: Analyzing the target (Step 3 in PASTA or equivalent in other methodologies)
involves understanding the system's architecture, components, and security
mechanisms to identify potential vulnerabilities. This includes evaluating input
validation, authentication methods, authorization controls, and configuration
management approaches before identifying specific threats. Rating threats (A) and
identifying threats (B) occur after analysis. Drawing DFDs (D) is typically an earlier step.
Domain: [Threat Modeling] | Difficulty: Advanced
Q6 [Basic] [Threat Modeling]: Which threat modeling methodology concentrates on each
element of a diagram based on threats common to each type of element?
A. STRIDE-Per-Element
B. STRIDE-Per-Interaction
