Secure-Software-Design WGU Secure Software Design (D487) Exam Questions and Answers

 The principle of running with the least privilege is a fundamental security concept that involves granting users only the permissions they need to perform their tasks and no more. This minimizes the risk of a user gaining access to administrator-level functionality that they are not authorized to use. By limiting the privileges of user accounts to the bare minimum necessary, the potential damage from various attacks, such as privilege escalation, is significantly reduced.

References: The concept of least privilege is widely recognized as a critical security measure. Resources like Exabeam’s article on preventing privilege escalation and TechTarget’s guide on privilege escalation attacks provide insights into how enforcing least privilege can mitigate such threats12. These sources verify that running with the least privilege is an effective mitigation technique against the threat of unauthorized access to elevated privileges.

The phase being described is the Implementation phase of the SDLC. During this phase, the actual development starts, and the product begins to be built. The teams are actively writing code, which is a key activity of the Implementation phase. This phase involves translating the design and specifications into executable code, developing the software’s features, and then integrating the various components into a full-fledged system.

References:

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC): 7 Phases and 5 Models1.

What Is the Software Development Life Cycle? SDLC Explained2.

SDLC: 6 Main Stages of the Software Product Development Lifecycle3.

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Phases & Models4.

After completing vulnerability scans and penetration analysis, security testers document the results to share with stakeholders, such as the organization’s largest customers. The deliverable being prepared in this context is the Security testing reports. These reports typically include detailed findings from the security assessments, explanations of the vulnerabilities discovered, the potential risks they pose, and recommendations for remediation. The purpose of these reports is to provide transparency about the security posture of the software or system and to guide the organization in addressing the identified security issues12. References: 1, 2

https://blog.halosecurity.com/what-really-matters-when-it-comes-to-pentesting-deliverables/

The step in threat modeling that involves collecting exploitable weaknesses within the product is Identify and document threats. This step is crucial as it directly addresses the identification of potential security issues that could be exploited. It involves a detailed examination of the system to uncover vulnerabilities that could be targeted by threats.

References: The OWASP Foundation’s Threat Modeling Process outlines a structured approach where identifying and documenting threats is a key step1. Additionally, various sources on threat modeling agree that the identification of threats is a fundamental aspect of the process, as it allows for the subsequent analysis and mitigation of these threats2345.

The phase being described is the Design phase of the SDLC. During this phase, developers and IT staff determine the architectural and operational details of the product, which includes decisions on how to deliver various components such as secure REST services, mobile apps, and web applications. The Design phase is crucial for setting the foundation for the development work that will follow, ensuring that the product will be secure, scalable, and maintainable.

References: The information aligns with the descriptions of the SDLC phases provided in resources such as GitHub’s explanation of the SDLC1 and other industry-standard software development lifecycle resources234.

The secure coding practice being described is Access Control. This practice ensures that access to data and features within a system is restricted and controlled. The description given indicates that the product has mechanisms to prevent the display of personally identifiable information (PII), restrict the printing of private documents, and require elevated privileges to access archived documents. These are all measures to control who has access to what data and under what circumstances, which is the essence of access control.

References:

ISO/IEC 27018 Code of Practice for Protecting Personal Data in the Cloud1.

NIST SP 800-122, Guide to Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII)2.

ISO/IEC 29151:2017, Code of practice for personally identifiable information protection3.

The task described involves assessing a document management application that has been in use for many years to ensure compliance with organizational policies. This typically falls under the category of a security strategy for legacy code. Legacy code refers to software that has been around for a while and may not have been designed with current security standards or organizational policies in mind. A security strategy for legacy code would involve reviewing and updating the application to meet current security requirements and organizational policies, ensuring that it remains secure and compliant over time.

References: The answer is based on standard practices for managing and securing legacy software systems, which include regular assessments and updates to align with current security standards and organizational policies1.

Static analysis is a method used to detect vulnerabilities in software without executing the code. It involves examining the codebase for patterns that are indicative of security issues, such as SQL injection vulnerabilities. This technique can identify potential threats and weaknesses by analyzing the code’s structure, syntax, and data flow.

References:

Static analysis as a means to identify security vulnerabilities1.

The importance of static analysis in the early stages of the SDLC to prevent security issues2.

Learning-based approaches to fix SQL injection vulnerabilities using static analysis3.

The practice of clearing all local storage when a user logs off and automatically logging a user out after an hour of inactivity falls under the category of Session Management. This is a security measure designed to prevent unauthorized access to a user’s session and to protect sensitive data that might be stored in the local storage. By clearing the local storage, any tokens, session identifiers, or other sensitive information are removed, reducing the risk of session hijacking or other attacks. The automatic logout feature ensures that inactive sessions do not remain open indefinitely, which could otherwise be exploited by attackers.

References: The information aligns with the secure coding practices outlined by the OWASP Foundation1, and is supported by common practices in web development for managing sessions and local storage2.

The phase being described is the Planning phase of the SDLC. This initial stage involves gathering business requirements and evaluating the feasibility of the project. It’s when the company leadership would typically meet with IT and other stakeholders to share visions for the future, discuss potential revenue streams, and determine the project’s direction before moving forward with development. This phase is crucial for setting the groundwork for all subsequent phases of the SDLC.

References:

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC): 7 Phases and 5 Models1.

What Is the Software Development Life Cycle? SDLC Explained2.

Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Phases & Models3.

Option D best addresses security change management, here's why:

Focus on Change: The question directly asks about a modification to how remote administration is secured. This aligns with the core goal of security change management, which is to evaluate and control the security implications of changes to systems.

Security-Specific: The question is explicitly concerned with security, not general functionality or requirements.

Practical Aspect: Remote administration access is a frequent target for attackers, making it a common area for security change management scrutiny.

The step of the PASTA threat modeling methodology where the team will capture infrastructure, application, and software dependencies is the Define technical scope step. This step involves detailing the technical elements of the project, which includes understanding and documenting the infrastructure, applications, and software dependencies that are critical to the system’s operation and security.

References: The PASTA (Process for Attack Simulation and Threat Analysis) threat modeling methodology is a seven-step process that includes defining the technical scope as a critical step for capturing the necessary technical details of the system being analyzed123.

Security testing reports are the most likely deliverables to contain detailed records of evaluations, their frequency, and re-evaluations. Here's why:

Purpose of Security Testing Reports: These reports document the results of security testing, including:

Types of tests: Vulnerability scans, penetration tests, code reviews, etc.

Frequency: How often tests were conducted (e.g., per build, per release cycle).

Re-evaluations: If vulnerabilities were discovered, these reports will track whether and how often those were retested after remediation.

Focus on Testing: The question specifically emphasizes evaluations, which aligns with the core content of security testing reports.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

In the context of software security, a threat model is a structured representation that identifies potential threats to the system, evaluates their severity, and guides the development of mitigation strategies. When a security assessment reveals vulnerabilities or areas of concern, it's imperative to update the threat modeling artifacts to reflect these findings. This ensures that the threat model remains an accurate and current representation of the system's security posture.

By updating the threat modeling artifacts, the team documents the identified threats and outlines necessary coding and architectural changes to mitigate these threats. This proactive approach allows for the integration of security considerations early in the design and development phases, reducing the likelihood of vulnerabilities in the deployed system.

This practice aligns with the Design business function of the OWASP Software Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM), which emphasizes the importance of incorporating security into the software design process. Within this function, the Threat Assessment practice focuses on identifying and evaluating potential threats to inform security requirements and design decisions. Updating threat modeling artifacts is a key activity within this practice, ensuring that security assessments directly influence the system's design and architecture.

References:

OWASP SAMM: Design - Threat Assessment

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

The scenario outlines the process of decommissioning a legacy application after a new product has successfully taken over its functions. This corresponds to the End of Life phase in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

The End of Life phase involves retiring outdated systems and transitioning users to newer solutions. This phase ensures that obsolete applications are systematically phased out, reducing maintenance costs and potential security vulnerabilities associated with unsupported software.

In this case, running both the legacy and new applications concurrently provided a safety net to ensure the new system's stability. After confirming the new product's reliability, the organization proceeds to disable the legacy system, marking its End of Life.

References:

Systems Development Life Cycle

The activity being performed is the final privacy review. This step is crucial in the Ship phase of the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), where the security team assesses if there are any changes or unresolved issues that could impact the requirements for handling personal information. These requirements are typically documented in the earlier stages of the development lifecycle, and the final privacy review ensures that the software complies with these requirements before release.

References: The explanation is based on the best practices outlined in the SDL Activities and Best Practices, which detail the importance of conducting a final privacy review during the Ship phase to ensure that all privacy issues have been addressed12.

Manual code review is a type of security analysis that requires a significant time investment from a highly skilled team member. This process involves a detailed and thorough examination of the source code to identify security vulnerabilities that automated tools might miss. It is labor-intensive because it relies on the expertise of the reviewer to understand the context, logic, and potential security implications of the code. Unlike automated methods like static or dynamic code analysis, manual code review demands a deep understanding of the codebase, which can be time-consuming and requires a high level of skill and experience.

References: The information provided here is based on industry best practices and standards for secure software design and development, as well as my understanding of security analysis methodologies12.

The security assessment deliverable that identifies unmanaged code that must be kept up to date throughout the life of the product is the List of third-party software. Unmanaged code refers to code that does not run under the garbage-collected environment of the .NET Common Language Runtime, and it often includes legacy code, system libraries, or code written in languages that do not support automatic memory management. Keeping a list of third-party software is crucial because it helps organizations track dependencies and ensure they are updated, patched, and compliant with security standards. This is essential for maintaining the security posture of the software over time, as outdated components can introduce vulnerabilities.

References: The references provided from the web search results support the importance of monitoring and updating software components, including unmanaged code, as part of a secure software development lifecycle12.

The type of threat described is Tampering. This threat occurs when an attacker intercepts and manipulates data being sent from the client to the server, such as form data being submitted to an API. The attacker may alter the data to change the intended operation, inject malicious content, or compromise the integrity of the system. Tampering attacks are a significant concern in secure software design because they can lead to unauthorized changes and potentially harmful actions within the application.

References:

Understanding the different types of API attacks and their prevention1.

Comprehensive guide on API security and threat mitigation2.

Detailed analysis of Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks and their impact on API security3.

The OpenSAMM business function being assessed is Verification. This function involves activities related to reviewing and testing to ensure that the software meets the required security standards and practices. In the context of the question, the software security group’s focus on reviewing design artifacts to ensure compliance with organizational security standards falls under the Verification function. This includes tasks such as design review, implementation review, and security testing, which are all aimed at verifying that the security measures and controls are correctly integrated into the software design.

References: The information is verified as per the OWASP SAMM documentation, which outlines the Verification function as a core business function that encompasses activities like design review, which is directly related to the assessment of design artifacts mentioned in the question1.

 The security testing technique that involves evaluating the vulnerability of all externally facing enterprise applications through both automated and manual system interactions is known as Penetration Testing. This method simulates real-world attacks on systems to identify potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. It is a proactive approach to discover security weaknesses before they can be exploited in a real attack scenario. Penetration testing can include a variety of methods such as network scanning, application testing, and social engineering tactics to ensure a comprehensive security evaluation.

References: The concept of Penetration Testing as a method for evaluating vulnerabilities aligns with industry standards and practices, as detailed in resources from security-focused organizations and literature1.

 Data flow analysis is a manual code review technique where the reviewer traces the path of data from its entry point in the software (input control) through its processing and manipulation within the application, to its exit points (outputs). This technique is used to ensure that the data is handled securely throughout its lifecycle within the application and to identify any potential security vulnerabilities that may arise from improper data handling or processing12