SY0-701 Exam Dumps - CompTIA Security+ Exam 2026

The correct answer is A. Residual risk.

Residual risk is the risk that remains after safeguards, controls, or mitigation strategies have been applied. In some cases, a risk cannot be fully eliminated or mitigated. The organization must then decide whether to accept, transfer, avoid, or further manage the remaining risk.

This aligns with CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 risk management concepts, especially risk treatment, risk acceptance, risk tolerance, and residual risk.

Why the other options are incorrect:

B. Risk appetite

Risk appetite is the amount and type of risk an organization is willing to accept in pursuit of its objectives. It does not specifically describe a risk that remains after mitigation attempts.

C. Reviewed risk

This is not the best formal risk management term for a risk that cannot be mitigated.

D. Risk register

A risk register is a document or system used to track identified risks, risk owners, likelihood, impact, treatment plans, and status. It does not describe the remaining risk itself.

Therefore, a risk that cannot be fully mitigated is best described as residual risk.

This scenario describes a partially-known environment penetration test. In CompTIA Security+ SY0-701, penetration testing approaches are commonly categorized as black box (unknown), white box (fully known), and gray box (partially known). A partially-known environment means the tester is given limited information—enough to be realistic and efficient, but not complete details about the infrastructure.

Here, the vendor is assisting an internal red team and is intentionally not provided with extensive infrastructure details, which mirrors a gray-box testing approach. This method balances realism and efficiency by simulating an attacker who has some knowledge (such as credentials, architecture diagrams, or application details) but not full access or documentation.

Passive reconnaissance (A) is an activity within testing, not a testing methodology. Integrated testing (C) refers to coordinated testing involving multiple teams (e.g., red and blue teams) with full cooperation. Defensive testing (D) focuses on validating defensive controls rather than simulating an attacker’s perspective.

Therefore, the correct answer is B: Partially-known environment.

The guidance focuses on attack surface reduction by eliminating unnecessary services, closing unused ports, and limiting publicly available information that attackers could leverage. Reducing the attack surface lowers the organization ' s exposure to threats and potential entry points.

Vulnerability assessments (B) identify weaknesses but do not necessarily involve active reduction measures. Tabletop exercises (C) simulate incidents, and business impact analysis (D) assesses the effects of disruptions, neither of which match the described activities.

Attack surface reduction is a core principle in Security Operations and penetration testing remediation strategies in SY0-701【6:Chapter 14†CompTIA Security+ Study Guide】.

Deploying a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution allows for efficient log aggregation, correlation, and analysis across an organization’s infrastructure, providing real-time security insights.References: Security+ SY0-701 Course Content​, Security+ SY0-601 Book​.

Device misconfigurations are the correct answer because leaving insecure protocols enabled is a configuration weakness. Protocols such as Telnet, FTP, SMBv1, older SSL/TLS versions, or unused management services can expose systems to credential theft, downgrade attacks, unauthorized access, or exploitation. Turning them off is part of system hardening and secure configuration management. Sideloading refers to installing applications from unauthorized sources, usually on mobile or endpoint platforms. Memory injection involves inserting malicious code into a running process. A malicious update is a compromised or hostile software update. The scenario is not about malware or software installation; it is about removing insecure enabled services. Security+ treats this as a misconfiguration and hardening issue.

Recovery Time Objective (RTO)defines themaximum acceptable downtimebefore business operationsmust be restored. It helps organizations set expectations for recovery speed and prioritize system restoration accordingly.

A (likelihood of an incident and cost)relates to risk assessment, not RTO.

B (roles and responsibilities)falls underincident response planning, not RTO.

C (state of restored systems)is covered byRecovery Point Objective (RPO), not RTO.