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17.02 Secure Execution And Resource Management - Quiz

!!! quiz “Section 17.2 Quiz: Secure Execution and Resource Management”# 17.2 Secure Execution & Resource Management — Quiz

This quiz assesses your understanding of secure execution environments, resource management, and protection mechanisms in software systems.## Question 1

Time Limit: 30 minutes What is the primary purpose of implementing resource limits in secure applications?

Total Marks: 30 marks

Question Types: Multiple choice and short answer- To improve application performance

  1. Which principle is most important when implementing secure execution environments?- To prevent resource exhaustion attacks (DoS)

    • Running all processes with maximum privileges for efficiency

    • { data-correct } Principle of least privilege - granting minimum necessary permissions- To reduce memory usage

    • Allowing unrestricted access to system resources

    • Sharing execution contexts between different security domains- To speed up file operations

  2. What is the primary purpose of process isolation in secure systems?## Question 2

    • To improve system performance

    • { data-correct } To prevent processes from accessing each other’s memory and resourcesWhich of the following is the MOST secure approach to handling file uploads?

    • To reduce memory usage

    • To enable faster inter-process communication- Accept any file type and scan for viruses afterward

  3. Which memory protection technique helps prevent buffer overflow attacks?- Validate filename, file size, content type, and set resource limits

    • Virtual memory allocation

    • { data-correct } Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR)- Only check file extensions

    • Memory compression

    • Garbage collection- Allow unlimited file sizes for user convenience

  4. What is the main security benefit of sandboxing applications?## Question 3

    • Faster application execution

    • Reduced memory consumptionIn the context of buffer overflow prevention, what is the main benefit of input validation?

    • { data-correct } Limiting application access to system resources and other applications

    • Improved user interface responsiveness- It makes the code run faster

  5. Which approach best describes secure resource allocation?- It prevents writing more data than a buffer can hold

    • Allocating maximum resources to prevent shortages

    • { data-correct } Implementing quotas and limits to prevent resource exhaustion attacks- It improves user experience

    • Sharing all resources freely between processes

    • Prioritizing performance over security constraints- It reduces network bandwidth usage

  6. What is the purpose of execution environment monitoring?## Question 4

    • To optimize system performance

    • To reduce power consumptionWhat is the recommended approach for handling sensitive errors in production applications?

    • { data-correct } To detect and respond to suspicious or malicious behavior

    • To improve user experience- Display detailed error messages to help users fix issues

  7. Which technique helps protect against code injection attacks?- Show generic error messages to users while logging detailed errors securely

    • Data compression

    • Memory defragmentation- Hide all errors completely

    • { data-correct } Data Execution Prevention (DEP) or No-Execute (NX) bit

    • Virtual memory paging- Only show errors to authenticated users

  8. What is the primary security concern with shared libraries in execution environments?## Question 5

    • Increased memory usage

    • Slower application startupWhich timeout strategy helps prevent cascading failures in distributed systems?

    • { data-correct } Potential for DLL hijacking or library replacement attacks

    • Compatibility issues between versions- Increasing timeout values indefinitely

  9. Which access control mechanism is most suitable for fine-grained resource management?- Using fixed retry intervals

    • Simple user/group permissions

    • { data-correct } Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) or Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)- Implementing circuit breaker patterns with exponential backoff

    • No access controls

    • Administrator-only access- Removing all timeouts

  10. What is the security benefit of container-based execution environments?## Question 6

    • Faster application deployment

    • Reduced storage requirementsWhat is the primary security risk of not implementing proper memory management?

    • { data-correct } Isolation of applications and their dependencies from the host system

    • Simplified development processes- Slower application performance

Short Answer Questions- Increased storage costs

Question 11 (5 marks): Explain how the principle of least privilege applies to secure execution environments. Provide two specific examples of how this principle can be implemented in practice.- Buffer overflow vulnerabilities and resource exhaustion

Question 12 (5 marks): Describe three different types of resource limits that should be implemented in a secure execution environment and explain why each is important for security.- Reduced user satisfaction

Question 13 (5 marks): Compare sandboxing and virtualization as security mechanisms. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?## Question 7

Question 14 (5 marks): Explain how Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) helps prevent security attacks. Include in your answer what types of attacks it protects against and any limitations it might have.In secure file operations, why is it important to validate file paths?

Answer Key- To improve file access speed

Multiple Choice: 1-B, 2-B, 3-B, 4-C, 5-B, 6-C, 7-C, 8-C, 9-B, 10-C- To prevent directory traversal attacks

Short Answer Guidelines:- To organize files better

Question 11: Should cover granting minimum necessary permissions, examples like running web servers as non-root users, database access with limited privileges, application-specific user accounts.- To reduce disk space usage

Question 12: Should include CPU quotas (prevent DoS), memory limits (prevent memory exhaustion), file system quotas (prevent disk space attacks), network bandwidth limits (prevent network flooding).## Question 8

Question 13: Should compare isolation levels, performance impact, implementation complexity, and use cases for both approaches.What is the main purpose of rate limiting in secure applications?

Question 14: Should explain memory layout randomization, protection against buffer overflow exploitation, limitations against info leak attacks.- To make the application faster

Extension Activities- To prevent abuse and resource exhaustion from excessive requests

  1. Security Architecture Design: Design a secure execution environment for a web application including all necessary isolation and resource management components.- To reduce server costs

  2. Attack Analysis: Research a real-world case where poor resource management led to a security breach and analyze what protections could have prevented it.- To improve user interface design

  3. Implementation Project: Implement a simple sandboxing mechanism using your chosen programming language’s security features.## Question 9

Which of the following is a secure exception handling practice?

  • Displaying full stack traces to users for transparency

  • Logging sensitive data in error messages

  • Using generic error messages for users while logging details securely

  • Ignoring all exceptions to prevent crashes

Question 10

Why is it important to set timeouts on file operations and network requests?

  • To improve application speed

  • To prevent operations from hanging indefinitely and consuming resources

  • To reduce memory usage

  • To make debugging easier