HashiCorp HCVA0-003 - HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate (003)Exam

The vault lease operations that use a lease_id as an argument are renew and revoke. The renew operation allows a client to extend the validity of a lease associated with a secret or a token. The revoke operation allows a client to terminate a lease immediately and invalidate the secret or the token. Both operations require a lease_id as an argument to identify the lease to be renewed or revoked. The lease_id can be obtained from the response of reading a secret or creating a token, or from the vault lease list command. The other operations, revoke-prefix, create, and describe, do not use a lease_id as an argument. The revoke-prefix operation allows a client to revoke all secrets or tokens generated under a given prefix. The create operation allows a client to create a new lease for a secret. The describe operation allows a client to view information about a lease, such as its TTL, policies, and metadata. References: Lease, Renew, and Revoke | Vault | HashiCorp Developer, vault lease - Command | Vault | HashiCorp Developer

To make an authenticated request via the Vault HTTP API, you need to use the X-Vault-Token HTTP Header or the Authorization HTTP Header using the Bearer scheme. The token is a string that represents your identity and permissions in Vault. You can obtain a token by using an authentication method, such as userpass, approle, aws, etc. The token can also be a root token, which has unlimited access to Vault, or a wrapped token, which is a response-wrapping token that can be used to unwrap the actual token. The token must be sent with every request to Vault that requires authentication, except for the unauthenticated endpoints, such as sys/init, sys/seal-status, sys/unseal, etc. The token is used by Vault to verify your identity and enforce the policies that grant or deny access to various paths and operations. References: https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/api-docs 3, https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs/concepts/tokens 4, https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs/concepts/auth 5

The vault kv put command writes the data to the given path in the K/V secrets engine. The command requires the mount path of the K/V secrets engine, the secret path, and the key-value pair to store. The mount path can be specified with the -mount flag or as part of the secret path. The key-value pair can be given as an argument or read from a file or stdin. The correct syntax for the command is:

vault kv put -mount=secret my-secrets/my-password 53cr3t

or

vault kv put secret/my-secrets my-password=53cr3t

The other options are incorrect because they use the deprecated vault kv write command, or they have the wrong order or format of the arguments. References: https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs/commands/kv/put 3, https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs/commands/kv 4

The Transit secrets engine supports the rotation of encryption keys, which allows you to change the key that is used to encrypt new data without affecting the ability to decrypt data that was already encrypted. This reduces the amount of content encrypted with a single key in case the key gets compromised, and also helps you comply with the NIST guidelines for key rotation. You can rotate the encryption key manually by invoking the /transit/keys//rotate endpoint, or you can configure the key to automatically rotate based on a time interval or a number of encryption operations. When you rotate a key, Vault generates a new key version and increments the key’s latest_version metadata. The new key version becomes the encryption key used for encrypting any new data. The previous key versions are still available for decrypting the existing data, unless you specify a minimum decryption version to archive the old key versions. You can also delete or disable old key versions if you want to revoke access to the data encrypted with those versions. References: https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/docs/secrets/transit 1, https://developer.hashicorp.com/vault/api-docs/secret/transit 2

Comprehensive and Detailed in Depth Explanation:

Vault replication ensures data consistency across clusters, using a specific port:

A: 8200- Default HTTP API port, not replication.

B: 8300- Raft protocol port, not replication.

C: 8201- Default replication port. Correct.

D: 8301- Serf protocol port, not replication.

Overall Explanation from Vault Docs:

“Replication occurs on TCP port 8201 by default… distinct from the API (8200) and Raft (8300) ports.”

Comprehensive and Detailed in Depth Explanation:

cubbyhole is default; kv and transit are user-enabled. Total: 3.

Overall Explanation from Vault Docs:

“cubbyhole is enabled by default… User-enabled engines add to this.”

Comprehensive and Detailed in Depth Explanation:

Token renewal extends a token’s TTL. Let’s evaluate:

A: TTL- Defines expiration time, not used for renewal. Incorrect.

B: Token ID- The token’s unique identifier; can be specified to renew it (e.g., vault token renew ). Correct.

C: Identity policy- Relates to access control, not renewal. Incorrect.

D: Token accessor- A unique identifier for operations like renewal without exposing the token (e.g., vault token renew -accessor ). Correct.

Overall Explanation from Vault Docs:

“Tokens can be renewed with vault token renew using either the token ID or accessor… TTL is not an attribute for renewal.”

Comprehensive and Detailed in Depth Explanation:

The screenshot provides a lease path: auth/userpass/login/student01, which reveals the authentication method used to generate the token tied to this lease. Vault’s auth methods create tokens at specific paths, and the path structure indicates the method.

Option A: UserpassThe path auth/userpass/login/student01 explicitly includes userpass, matching the userpass auth method. This method authenticates users with a username (e.g., student01) and password, typically via vault login -method=userpass username=student01. The /login endpoint confirms a login operation, and the lease ties to the resulting token. This is the clear, correct answer based on the path. Correct.Vault Docs Insight:“The userpass auth method allows users to authenticate with a username and password… mounted at auth/userpass by default.” (Matches the path.)

Option B: Auth“Auth” isn’t an auth method—it’s the namespace prefix (auth/) for all auth methods in Vault (e.g., auth/token, auth/userpass). The screenshot specifies userpass within auth/, not a generic “auth” method. This option is a misnomer and incorrect.Vault Docs Insight:“All auth methods are mounted under auth/… ‘auth’ itself is not a method.” (Clarifies structure.)

Option C: Root tokenA root token is a privileged token type, not an auth method. It’s created during Vault initialization or via auth/token/create with root privileges, not through a login path like auth/userpass/login. The screenshot’s path indicates a userpass login, not a root token usage. Incorrect.Vault Docs Insight:“Root tokens are created at initialization… not tied to a specific auth method login path.” (Distinct from userpass.)

Option D: Child tokenA child token is a token created by a parent token (e.g., via vault token create), not an auth method. The path auth/userpass/login/student01 shows a login event, not a token creation event (which would be auth/token/create). This option confuses token hierarchy with authentication. Incorrect.Vault Docs Insight:“Child tokens are created by parent tokens… not directly via login endpoints.” (Different mechanism.)

Detailed Mechanics:

When a user logs in with vault login -method=userpass -path=userpass username=student01, Vault hits the endpoint POST /v1/auth/userpass/login/student01 with a password payload. Success generates a token, and a lease is created at auth/userpass/login/student01 with a TTL. The screenshot’s lease path directly reflects this process, pinpointing userpass as the method.

Real-World Example:

Enable userpass: vault auth enable userpass. Add user: vault write auth/userpass/users/student01 password=secret. Login: vault login -method=userpass username=student01. The token’s lease appears as auth/userpass/login/student01.

Overall Explanation from Vault Docs:

“The lease shown lives at auth/userpass/login/ and indicates the userpass auth method was used to obtain a token… The userpass method authenticates via username/password at its mount path.” The path structure is a definitive indicator.

Comprehensive and Detailed in Depth Explanation:

A:Correctly contrasts self-managed (user responsibility) with HCP Vault (HashiCorp-managed). Correct.

B:Both support replication; false. Incorrect.

C:HCP Vault doesn’t require manual upgrades. Incorrect.

D:Reverses responsibilities; false. Incorrect.

Overall Explanation from Vault Docs:

“HCP Vault Dedicated is operated by HashiCorp… Self-managed Vault requires users to handle setup, maintenance, and scaling.”

Comprehensive and Detailed in Depth Explanation:

In HashiCorp Vault, authentication methods (auth methods) are mechanisms that allow users or machines to authenticate and obtain a token. When an auth method like userpass is enabled, it is mounted at a specific path in Vault’s namespace, and this path determines where operators interact with it—e.g., to log in, configure, or manage it.

The userpass auth method is enabled with the command vault auth enable -path=users userpass, meaning it’s explicitly mounted at the users/ path. However, Vault’s authentication system has a standard convention: all auth methods are accessed under the auth/ prefix, followed by the mount path. This prefix is a logical namespace separating authentication endpoints from secrets engines or system endpoints.

Option A: users/auth/This reverses the expected order. The auth/ prefix comes first, followed by the mount path (users/), not the other way around. This path would not correspond to any valid Vault endpoint for interacting with the userpass auth method. Incorrect.

Option B: authentication/usersVault does not use authentication/ as a prefix; it uses auth/. The term “authentication” is not part of Vault’s path structure—it’s a conceptual term, not a literal endpoint. This makes the path invalid and unusable in Vault’s API or CLI. Incorrect.

Option C: auth/usersThis follows Vault’s standard convention: auth/ (the authentication namespace) followed by users (the custom mount path specified when enabling the auth method). For example, to log in using the userpass method mounted at users/, the command would be vault login -method=userpass -path=users username=. The API endpoint would be /v1/auth/users/login. This is the correct path for operators to interact with the auth method, whether via CLI, UI, or API. Correct.

Option D: users/While users/ is the mount path, omitting the auth/ prefix breaks Vault’s structure. Directly accessing users/ would imply it’s a secrets engine or other mount type, not an auth method. Auth methods always require the auth/ prefix for interaction. Incorrect.

Detailed Mechanics:

When an auth method is enabled, Vault creates a backend at the specified path under auth/. The userpass method, for instance, supports endpoints like /login (for authentication) and /users/ (for managing users). If mounted at users/, these become auth/users/login and auth/users/users/. This structure ensures isolation and clarity in Vault’s routing system. The ability to customize the path (e.g., users/ instead of the default userpass/) allows flexibility for organizations with multiple auth instances, but the auth/ prefix remains mandatory.

Overall Explanation from Vault Docs:

“When enabled, auth methods are mounted within the Vault mount table under the auth/ prefix… For example, enabling userpass at users/ allows interaction at auth/users.” This convention ensures operators can consistently locate and manage auth methods, regardless of custom paths.