WGU D487 SECURE SW DESIGN EXAM 2026 ACTUAL
EXAM QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED VERIFIED
ANSWERS (100% CORRECT ANSWERS) /ALREADY
GRADED A+
1|Page
,WGU D487 SECURE SOFTWARE DESIGN
2026/2027 Examination
Total Questions: 200
Instructions:
• Answer all questions.
• Select the single best answer.
• Each question has four answer choices: A, B, C, and D.
• Select only ONE answer for each question.
SECTION 1: Foundational Security Concepts and Design Principles
Questions 1–25
Q1. A development team is building a patient portal for a hospital system. The security architect
insists that the application should only request the patient's name and date of birth from the
database, even though the database schema also contains billing codes and insurance details. Which
security principle is the architect applying?
A. Defense in depth
B. Principle of least privilege
C. Separation of duties
D. Economy of mechanism
Correct Answer: B. Principle of least privilege
Rationale: The principle of least privilege mandates that users, processes, and systems operate
with only the minimum permissions necessary to complete their function. By restricting database
access to only the required fields, the architect limits the potential impact of a breach. Defense in
depth involves multiple layers, separation of duties involves distributing critical tasks, and economy
of mechanism advocates for simplicity.
Q2. An e-commerce platform discovers that an attacker was able to modify product prices in the
shopping cart before checkout. Which component of the CIA triad was primarily compromised?
A. Confidentiality
B. Availability
C. Integrity
D. Non-repudiation
Correct Answer: C. Integrity
Rationale: Integrity ensures that data remains accurate and unaltered by unauthorized parties.
Modifying product prices without authorization directly violates data integrity. Confidentiality
concerns unauthorized disclosure, availability concerns system uptime, and non-repudiation
concerns proof of actions.
2|Page
, Q3. A security engineer is designing an authentication system for a high-security government
application. The system must ensure that if the credential verification service becomes unavailable,
no user is granted access. Which design principle is being implemented?
A. Fail-safe defaults
B. Open design
C. Least common mechanism
D. Psychological acceptability
Correct Answer: A. Fail-safe defaults
Rationale: Fail-safe defaults dictate that access decisions should default to denial when the
system cannot determine the correct permission. Denying access during a verification service failure
prevents unauthorized entry. Open design advocates for public algorithm scrutiny, least common
mechanism minimizes shared resources, and psychological acceptability focuses on user usability.
Q4. A financial institution requires that no single employee can both create a vendor record and
approve payment to that vendor. Which security principle does this requirement enforce?
A. Defense in depth
B. Least privilege
C. Separation of duties
D. Economy of mechanism
Correct Answer: C. Separation of duties
Rationale: Separation of duties prevents any single individual from completing a critical
transaction end-to-end, reducing the risk of fraud and insider threats. Defense in depth uses layered
controls, least privilege minimizes permissions, and economy of mechanism advocates for simplicity.
Q5. A developer is writing code to handle user login attempts. The code currently allows
unlimited failed attempts, which a security reviewer flags as a vulnerability. Which security property
is most directly threatened by this implementation?
A. Confidentiality
B. Integrity
C. Availability
D. Non-repudiation
Correct Answer: A. Confidentiality
Rationale: Unlimited failed login attempts enable brute-force attacks that can eventually
compromise user credentials, leading to unauthorized access and a breach of confidentiality.
Integrity concerns data modification, availability concerns system uptime, and non-repudiation
concerns proof of origin.
3|Page
, Q6. An organization implements a Zero Trust architecture. Which statement best describes how
internal network traffic should be treated?
A. Traffic from internal IP addresses is inherently trusted.
B. Traffic must be verified continuously regardless of origin.
C. Traffic within the data center is exempt from encryption.
D. Traffic from the VPN is trusted without further inspection.
Correct Answer: B. Traffic must be verified continuously regardless of origin.
Rationale: Zero Trust operates on the principle of "never trust, always verify." No traffic is
implicitly trusted based on network location, including internal networks and VPNs. Continuous
verification and least-privilege access are core tenets of Zero Trust.
Q7. A web application has many unused API endpoints left over from a previous version. The
security team recommends removing these endpoints. Which security concept does this
recommendation support?
A. Defense in depth
B. Attack surface reduction
C. Separation of duties
D. Fail-safe defaults
Correct Answer: B. Attack surface reduction
Rationale: Attack surface reduction minimizes the number of potential entry points an attacker
can exploit. Removing unused endpoints eliminates unnecessary attack vectors. Defense in depth
adds layers, separation of duties distributes tasks, and fail-safe defaults govern access decisions
during failures.
Q8. A security architect is designing a system that uses encryption at rest, encryption in transit,
access controls, and audit logging. Which principle does this layered approach exemplify?
A. Least privilege
B. Defense in depth
C. Economy of mechanism
D. Open design
Correct Answer: B. Defense in depth
Rationale: Defense in depth employs multiple overlapping security controls so that if one layer
fails, others continue to provide protection. Encryption, access controls, and audit logging represent
different defensive layers. Least privilege limits permissions, economy of mechanism favors
simplicity, and open design advocates for public scrutiny of algorithms.
Q9. A healthcare application logs all access to patient records but does not log failed login
attempts. Which component of the IAAA model is most weakened by this omission?
4|Page
EXAM QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED VERIFIED
ANSWERS (100% CORRECT ANSWERS) /ALREADY
GRADED A+
1|Page
,WGU D487 SECURE SOFTWARE DESIGN
2026/2027 Examination
Total Questions: 200
Instructions:
• Answer all questions.
• Select the single best answer.
• Each question has four answer choices: A, B, C, and D.
• Select only ONE answer for each question.
SECTION 1: Foundational Security Concepts and Design Principles
Questions 1–25
Q1. A development team is building a patient portal for a hospital system. The security architect
insists that the application should only request the patient's name and date of birth from the
database, even though the database schema also contains billing codes and insurance details. Which
security principle is the architect applying?
A. Defense in depth
B. Principle of least privilege
C. Separation of duties
D. Economy of mechanism
Correct Answer: B. Principle of least privilege
Rationale: The principle of least privilege mandates that users, processes, and systems operate
with only the minimum permissions necessary to complete their function. By restricting database
access to only the required fields, the architect limits the potential impact of a breach. Defense in
depth involves multiple layers, separation of duties involves distributing critical tasks, and economy
of mechanism advocates for simplicity.
Q2. An e-commerce platform discovers that an attacker was able to modify product prices in the
shopping cart before checkout. Which component of the CIA triad was primarily compromised?
A. Confidentiality
B. Availability
C. Integrity
D. Non-repudiation
Correct Answer: C. Integrity
Rationale: Integrity ensures that data remains accurate and unaltered by unauthorized parties.
Modifying product prices without authorization directly violates data integrity. Confidentiality
concerns unauthorized disclosure, availability concerns system uptime, and non-repudiation
concerns proof of actions.
2|Page
, Q3. A security engineer is designing an authentication system for a high-security government
application. The system must ensure that if the credential verification service becomes unavailable,
no user is granted access. Which design principle is being implemented?
A. Fail-safe defaults
B. Open design
C. Least common mechanism
D. Psychological acceptability
Correct Answer: A. Fail-safe defaults
Rationale: Fail-safe defaults dictate that access decisions should default to denial when the
system cannot determine the correct permission. Denying access during a verification service failure
prevents unauthorized entry. Open design advocates for public algorithm scrutiny, least common
mechanism minimizes shared resources, and psychological acceptability focuses on user usability.
Q4. A financial institution requires that no single employee can both create a vendor record and
approve payment to that vendor. Which security principle does this requirement enforce?
A. Defense in depth
B. Least privilege
C. Separation of duties
D. Economy of mechanism
Correct Answer: C. Separation of duties
Rationale: Separation of duties prevents any single individual from completing a critical
transaction end-to-end, reducing the risk of fraud and insider threats. Defense in depth uses layered
controls, least privilege minimizes permissions, and economy of mechanism advocates for simplicity.
Q5. A developer is writing code to handle user login attempts. The code currently allows
unlimited failed attempts, which a security reviewer flags as a vulnerability. Which security property
is most directly threatened by this implementation?
A. Confidentiality
B. Integrity
C. Availability
D. Non-repudiation
Correct Answer: A. Confidentiality
Rationale: Unlimited failed login attempts enable brute-force attacks that can eventually
compromise user credentials, leading to unauthorized access and a breach of confidentiality.
Integrity concerns data modification, availability concerns system uptime, and non-repudiation
concerns proof of origin.
3|Page
, Q6. An organization implements a Zero Trust architecture. Which statement best describes how
internal network traffic should be treated?
A. Traffic from internal IP addresses is inherently trusted.
B. Traffic must be verified continuously regardless of origin.
C. Traffic within the data center is exempt from encryption.
D. Traffic from the VPN is trusted without further inspection.
Correct Answer: B. Traffic must be verified continuously regardless of origin.
Rationale: Zero Trust operates on the principle of "never trust, always verify." No traffic is
implicitly trusted based on network location, including internal networks and VPNs. Continuous
verification and least-privilege access are core tenets of Zero Trust.
Q7. A web application has many unused API endpoints left over from a previous version. The
security team recommends removing these endpoints. Which security concept does this
recommendation support?
A. Defense in depth
B. Attack surface reduction
C. Separation of duties
D. Fail-safe defaults
Correct Answer: B. Attack surface reduction
Rationale: Attack surface reduction minimizes the number of potential entry points an attacker
can exploit. Removing unused endpoints eliminates unnecessary attack vectors. Defense in depth
adds layers, separation of duties distributes tasks, and fail-safe defaults govern access decisions
during failures.
Q8. A security architect is designing a system that uses encryption at rest, encryption in transit,
access controls, and audit logging. Which principle does this layered approach exemplify?
A. Least privilege
B. Defense in depth
C. Economy of mechanism
D. Open design
Correct Answer: B. Defense in depth
Rationale: Defense in depth employs multiple overlapping security controls so that if one layer
fails, others continue to provide protection. Encryption, access controls, and audit logging represent
different defensive layers. Least privilege limits permissions, economy of mechanism favors
simplicity, and open design advocates for public scrutiny of algorithms.
Q9. A healthcare application logs all access to patient records but does not log failed login
attempts. Which component of the IAAA model is most weakened by this omission?
4|Page
