The SecOps Group CAP Exam Questions - Navigate Your Path to Success

Correct : A

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) occurs when an attacker tricks a user's browser into making an unintended request to a site where the user is authenticated, potentially performing actions like changing a password. Let's analyze the request:

The request is a POST to /changepassword with a Cookie: JSESSIONID, indicating the user is authenticated via a session. The Content-Length: 95 and payload (new_password=lov3MyPiano23&confirm_password=lov3MyPiano23) suggest a state-changing operation (password change).

CSRF vulnerability arises when the request lacks a unique, unpredictable token to validate its legitimacy, and the server accepts it based solely on the session cookie. The request includes no CSRF token (e.g., in the body or headers like X-CSRF-Token).

The Sec-Fetch-Site: same-origin header indicates the request originates from the same domain, but this is a browser feature and does not guarantee server-side protection against CSRF from a malicious site (e.g., via a hidden iframe or form submission).

Without a CSRF token, an attacker could craft a malicious HTML page with a form that submits this exact request when a victim visits their site while authenticated to example.com, exploiting the browser's automatic inclusion of the JSESSIONID cookie. This is a textbook CSRF vulnerability.

Option A ('True'): Correct, as the request lacks a CSRF token, making it vulnerable to CSRF attacks.

Option B ('False'): Incorrect, as the absence of a CSRF token indicates vulnerability.

The correct answer is A, aligning with the CAP syllabus under 'Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)' and 'Session Management.'

Correct : B

A TLS certificate expiry means the certificate used to secure the HTTPS connection is no longer valid, typically due to its expiration date being passed. This triggers a TLS error message in the browser (e.g., 'Your connection is not private'). Let's evaluate the options:

Option A ('There is no urgency to renew the certificate as the communication is still over TLS'): Incorrect. While the communication may technically still occur over TLS (depending on browser and server behavior), an expired certificate breaks the trust model. Browsers will warn users, and some may block access entirely. The communication is not secure in the sense that the certificate's validity cannot be verified, potentially exposing users to risks if they bypass warnings. This is not a valid justification for delaying renewal.

Option B ('There is an urgency to renew the certificate as the users of the website may get conditioned to ignore TLS warnings and therefore ignore a legitimate warning which could be a real Man-in-the-Middle attack'): Correct. An expired TLS certificate causes repeated warnings, which may desensitize users to ignore them. If a real Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack occurs (e.g., an attacker presents a fake certificate), users accustomed to bypassing warnings might not notice, increasing the risk of data interception. Renewing the certificate is urgent to restore trust and prevent this conditioning effect, aligning with security best practices.

The correct answer is B, aligning with the CAP syllabus under 'TLS Configuration' and 'Certificate Management.'