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Question

Difficulty: HardHost, Network, and Architecture Vulnerabilities

A security analyst evaluates an enterprise environment where legacy monitoring agents running on internal host servers transmit host telemetry data using unencrypted broadcast traffic across a flat management subnet. Additionally, internal host-to-host administrative communication is automatically permitted based strictly on subnetwork IP address origin without requiring continuous session verification or microsegmentation.

Which of the following vulnerabilities are present in this architectural deployment? (Select TWO.)

  1. Implicit trust reliance on network perimeter boundaries rather than zero trust verificationAnswer
  2. B
    Cross-site scripting exposure within the host management application framework
  3. Use of cleartext transmission protocols for host telemetry and network communicationAnswer
  4. D
    Inappropriate placement of inline detective honeypot controls across the subnet
  5. E
    Misclassification of preventive firewall controls as compensating physical controls

Answer

The correct vulnerabilities are implicit trust reliance on network perimeter boundaries rather than zero trust verification, and the use of cleartext transmission protocols for host telemetry and network communication.
The scenario highlights two distinct architectural vulnerabilities: transmitting telemetry over unencrypted broadcast channels represents a cleartext protocol exposure, while permitting host communication based solely on subnet origin demonstrates implicit perimeter trust instead of Zero Trust continuous verification.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the network transmission security described in the scenario.
Identified that legacy monitoring agents broadcast telemetry data in an unencrypted state.
Unencrypted broadcast traffic permits eavesdropping and packet sniffing, indicating a cleartext protocol vulnerability.
2
Analyze the access control and architectural design.
Identified that host-to-host connections are trusted based purely on subnet IP origin without continuous authentication.
Relying on network placement for access privileges constitutes implicit perimeter trust, violating microsegmentation and Zero Trust tenets.
3
Select the matching vulnerabilities corresponding to these findings.
Matched cleartext telemetry to cleartext transmission protocol vulnerability, and matched IP origin trust to implicit perimeter reliance.
These two findings directly map to host and network architecture weaknesses.

Key Concept

Host, Network, and Architecture Vulnerabilities (Perimeter Trust vs. Zero Trust & Cleartext Protocols)
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Topics

Host, Network, and Architecture Vulnerabilities