Pass the HashiCorp HashiCorp Security Automation Certification HCVA0-003 Questions and answers with CertsForce

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

In HashiCorp Vault, thedefault TTL (Time To Live)for tokens, when not explicitly specified, is768 hours, equivalent to32 days. This applies to both the initial TTL and the maximum TTL unless overridden.

Default Configuration: The documentation states: "When no specific TTL is provided, a generated token will inherit the default TTL which is 768 hours (32 days)." This long default ensures usability in many scenarios while allowing customization.

Customization Option: Operators can adjust this using commands like vault write sys/mounts/auth/token/tune default_lease_ttl=1h max_lease_ttl=24h, but without such tuning, 768 hours applies.

Incorrect Options:

A. 24 hours: Too short for Vault’s default; it’s a common custom setting instead.

B. 15 minutes: Far too brief and not aligned with Vault’s defaults.

D. 60 minutes: Another common custom value, not the default.

This default balances usability with security, encouraging explicit configuration for shorter-lived tokens when needed.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

The correct API endpoint for managing secrets engines is:

B. /v1/sys/mounts: "The /sys/mounts endpoint is used to manage secrets engines in Vault." It enables and configures secrets engines by mounting them at specific paths, per the documentation.

Incorrect Options:

A. /v1/sys/init: For Vault initialization, not secrets engines. "Used for initializing the Vault server."

C. /v1/sys/config: Manages system-wide settings, not engines. "Used for system-wide configurations."

D. /v1/sys/plugins/catalog: Manages plugins, not engine mounting. "Related to managing plugins and their catalog."

This endpoint is central to Vault’s secrets engine lifecycle.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

Vault namespaces require specifying the integration namespace to access secrets:

C. Path-Based: "Modifying the API request URL to include the namespace 'integration' before the path to the secret ensures that Hanna is accessing the secret from the correct namespace." The URL https://vault.example.com:8200/v1/integration/secret/data/my-secret correctly prepends the namespace.

D. Header-Based: "Adding the 'X-Vault-Namespace:integration' header specifies the namespace where the secrets are stored." This header method keeps the base path unchanged while targeting the integration namespace.

Incorrect Options:

A: Incorrect syntax; \integration is malformed. "The API request URL structure is incorrect."

B: --namespace is not a curl flag. "The '--namespace' flag is not a valid option."

"To invoke an API on a specific namespace, you can pass the target namespace in the X-Vault-Namespace header or make the namespace as a part of the API endpoint."

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

This statement isfalsedue to Vault’s rewrap feature:

B. False: "You can use the rewrap feature of the transit secrets engine to rewrap the data with the latest version of the key. This process does not reveal the plaintext data." Rewrapping updates the encryption key version without decryption.

Incorrect Option:

A. True: Incorrect; rewrapping avoids the decrypt-re-encrypt cycle.

This enhances security and efficiency in key rotation.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:

Vault can decrypt if the key version is available:

A. Yes: "The minimum decryption version set to 4 indicates that Vault will be able to decrypt data encrypted with version 4 of the key."

Incorrect Option:

B. No: "The latest version being 6 does not impact Vault’s ability to decrypt earlier versions."