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Which of the following is an example of a false negative vulnerability detection in a scan report?
Suggested Answer: C
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A false negative occurs when a security control or scanning tool fails to detect a vulnerability that actually exists. In vulnerability scanning, this means the scan reports a system as secure even though it is vulnerable. Therefore, a result that shows no known vulnerability is an example of a false negative if a vulnerability is present but undetected.
CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 explains that false negatives are particularly dangerous because they provide a false sense of security, potentially leaving systems exposed to exploitation. Causes of false negatives include outdated vulnerability signatures, misconfigured scanners, credentialed scan failures, or unsupported legacy systems.
Option A describes a false positive, where a vulnerability is reported but does not exist. Option B may indicate an outdated scan result, not necessarily a false negative. Option D is incorrect because zero-day vulnerabilities do not have known remediations and are typically not detected by signature-based scanners.
Thus, the correct example of a false negative is C: A result that shows no known vulnerability.
117 comments · newest first
RA
Rajesh Kumar
1 month ago
I think C is the right pick false negatives come from scans missing real flaws.
SA
Sarah Scott
1 month ago
Agree, C is correct. Using credentialed scans helps catch hidden vulnerabilities missed by unprivileged scans.
AL
Ali Sheikh
30 days ago
User N: Exactly. Credentialed scans help catch hidden flaws, but false negatives can also result from outdated signatures or misconfigured scanners.
AD
Adnan Iqbal
28 days ago
User N: That's right, credentialed scans help. Still, the example C shows no known vulnerability, which is the classic false negative the question targets.
BA
Barbara Lewis
30 days ago
User N: Exactly. Credentialed scans reduce false negatives by accessing deeper system data; the key distinction is that unprivileged scans may miss misconfigurations or patch gaps that credentialed scans can verify.
WI
William Williams
29 days ago
User N: Exactly, credentialed scans reduce false negatives; keep vulnerability signatures and plugins updated to catch newer flaws.
JE
Jennifer Taylor
1 month ago
I was torn between C and A at first; the 'no known vulnerability' wording confused me, but credentialed scans clarified why C is right.
RI
Rizwan Raza
28 days ago
Yes, C is right, and credentialed scans help catch those hidden vulnerabilities that unprivileged scans miss.
ER
Erik Leroy
1 month ago
You're right that C represents a false negative, the scan shows no known vulnerability, yet a real flaw exists. The key is the vulnerability is present but undetected.
AN
Antoine Hansen
1 month ago
I was stuck between B and C too, mainly due to the 'no vulnerability' phrasing, the explanation about undetected flaws clarified it.
EM
Emma Adams
28 days ago
User N: That clarifies it well. A subtle distinction: 'no known vulnerability' is only a false negative if a real vulnerability exists but remains undetected by the scan.
FR
Freya Diaz
1 month ago
You're right that C is a false negative. The key difference is the vulnerability exists but the scan misses it, reporting none due to detection gaps like outdated signatures or misconfigurations.
SI
Sigrid Ricci
28 days ago
User N: Agree with that, the subtle distinction is that a 'no known vulnerability' result is a false negative only if a real vulnerability exists but isn't detected.
AM
Amit Verma
1 month ago
User N: That's right, but a subtle distinction is that no known vulnerability means the scan failed to detect one that exists, not that it isn't present.
SU
Sunita Verma
29 days ago
User N: Exactly, but a subtle distinction is that 'no known vulnerability' reflects the scan's failure to detect present flaws; if there truly are none, it would be a true negative.
LI
Linh Chen
1 month ago
If the scan is outdated, wouldn't C still risk being misinterpreted as current rather than false negative?
OL
Olga Petrov
1 month ago
I struggled with the outdated scan angle too; it still counts as false negative if a real flaw isn’t detected, not current status.
TH
Thi Dang
29 days ago
User N: That's true, but outdated scans miss current flaws; 'no known vulnerability' can be a false negative since detection failed, not because nothing is present.
MA
Marco Fedorov
1 month ago
User N: That's true, but C is still a false negative if a vulnerability exists and the scan misses it; outdated scans can cause that too.
ZA
Zainab Raza
28 days ago
User N: That's a good point. Outdated scans can look current, but a true false negative still means a present vulnerability went undetected by the scan.
AD
Aditya Chopra
1 month ago
You're right that an outdated scan can contribute to a false negative. The key is that C is a 'no known vulnerability' result, which becomes false negative if a vulnerability exists but isn’t detected.
KH
Khadijah Hashmi
29 days ago
User N: That's right about outdated scans. The distinction is that C becomes a false negative only when a real vulnerability exists and the scan fails to detect it.
TA
Tao Choi
1 month ago
Agree, C is the right choice since scans miss real flaws.
CH
Chiara Martin
28 days ago
User N: That's right, C reflects a failure to detect an existing flaw. But remember false negatives arise from outdated signatures or misconfigured scans too.
AN
Andrew Miller
27 days ago
Exactly, C is correct; but note that outdated signatures or misconfigured scans also contribute to false negatives.
AB
Abdullah Sheikh
1 month ago
Because C shows no vulnerability even though one exists, it's a false negative; the scan failed to detect the real flaw and still reports secure.
AM
Amanda Miller
30 days ago
User N: That matches your point, but remember C relies on the scanner's detection limits; 'no known vulnerability' can be a false negative if flaws go undetected.
SA
Samira Siddiqui
1 month ago
User N: I was torn between B and C at first too, the no known vulnerabilities part confused me, but the explanation clarified false negatives.
MI
Min Dang
1 month ago
User N: That's understandable; the no known vulnerabilities part can be tricky. A false negative means the scan reports no vulnerabilities even though one actually exists.
JI
Jiyeon Jeong
1 month ago
You're right that C describes no known vulnerability, but that only counts as a false negative if a vulnerability actually exists and is missed.
XI
Xiao Pham
29 days ago
That's true, but in this context a no known vulnerability result counts as false negative if an actual vulnerability exists and is undetected.
AD
Adnan Abbasi
28 days ago
User N: Agree. So C is the false negative only when an actual vulnerability exists and remains undetected by the scan.
IS
Isha Tiwari
30 days ago
User N: Yes, the difference is existence. C becomes a false negative only if a real vulnerability exists and the scan misses it, otherwise no vulnerability means no error.
AN
Anthony Harris
29 days ago
User N: Yes, and note that even with a real vulnerability, a misconfigured or scope-limited scan could miss it, creating a false negative.
NA
Nasrin Siddiqui
1 month ago
I was torn between C and A at first, thinking no known vulnerability might still be false negative if a flaw exists but isn't detected.
MA
Manish Singh
28 days ago
That makes sense; between C and A you questioned both. The key is C is a false negative only if an actual vulnerability exists and the scan misses it.
JA
James Young
1 month ago
I don’t think C is always right because a result showing no known vulnerability could be valid if none exists, not necessarily a false negative.
SU
Suresh Sinha
30 days ago
User N: Building on your point that C is right, the distinction is this: C shows no detected vulnerability, but if one exists and is undetected, that's a false negative.
AI
Aiko Kim
29 days ago
User N: That's true, but the subtle distinction is that C is about no detected vulnerability; if one exists and is missed, that's a false negative.
HA
Hao Phan
1 month ago
User N: You're right that no vulnerability is valid if none exists, but a false negative means a real vulnerability exists and the scan misses it.
BJ
Bjorn Sanchez
30 days ago
That's right, but there's a subtle distinction: a 'no known vulnerability' result can be a false negative if a real vulnerability exists but the scanner misses it.
PI
Pierre Simon
1 month ago
User N: I was unsure too, especially about 'no known vulnerability' implying a false negative, and the explanation about undetected existing flaws helped clarify.
LI
Linh Phan
30 days ago
User N: That's true, but the distinction is key: no known vulnerability equals false negative only if a real vulnerability exists and the scan misses it.
AA
Aarav Bansal
1 month ago
I also hovered between B and C at first, the no vulnerability shown wording confused me, but the explanation helped.
MA
Matteo Diaz
30 days ago
User N: I also circled B and C at first; that 'no vulnerability shown' wording tripped me up, but the explanation clarified the false negative idea.
JI
Jin Le
28 days ago
That makes sense. The "no vulnerability shown" wording is tricky, a false negative means a real flaw exists but wasn't detected, which supports C.
CA
Carlos Marino
1 month ago
User N: That makes sense; the wording is tricky. A false negative means a scan shows no known vulnerability even though one exists, so C applies only if the detector misses it.
AN
Antoine Sokolov
28 days ago
User N: Exactly. The subtle point is that C is a false negative only if a real vulnerability exists and the scanner fails to detect it.
TH
Thomas Pedersen
1 month ago
Yeah I get it, 'no vulnerability shown' sounds final, but it can be a false negative if a real issue exists and the scanner missed it.
JO
Joshua Miller
1 month ago
That's true, but a subtle distinction: 'no vulnerability shown' might reflect scope or credential issues, while a true false negative means an actual vulnerability existed and was missed.
MI
Min Do
1 month ago
False negatives are tricky, C shows no known vulnerabilities but undetected flaws may exist.
NI
Nikhil Nair
1 month ago
Agree, C is the right pick; also note credentialed scans reduce false negatives by deeper system access.
PR
Preeti Dubey
27 days ago
User 3: Agreed, C is right. Credentialed scans help but can miss logic flaws, so pair with manual testing and runtime checks to reduce residual false negatives.
GE
Geeta Iyer
26 days ago
User 4: I agree, C is right; credentialed scans help, but manual tests and runtime checks further reduce false negatives by catching logic flaws.
MA
Marie Ferrari
1 month ago
User N: I was torn between B and C at first; the phrase no known vulnerability confused me, but the note on undetected flaws clarified things.
RE
Rebecca Adams
29 days ago
User N: That's right, C is the right pick; credentialed scans help, but outdated signatures or misconfigurations can still cause a false negative.
SN
Sneha Mehta
1 month ago
You're right that credentialed scans help; the deeper system access lets the scanner detect vulnerabilities hidden behind login walls that uncredentialed scans miss.
PI
Pierre Ferrari
28 days ago
User N: True, and while credentialed scans reduce false negatives, they may still miss misconfigurations or zero-day vulnerabilities.
IM
Imran Ansari
1 month ago
User N: That's true, but the part you missed is that 'no known vulnerability' is a false negative only when a real vulnerability exists but goes undetected.
NI
Nisha Patel
30 days ago
You're right. The key point is that 'no known vulnerability' becomes a false negative only when a real vulnerability exists and the scan fails to detect it.
OL
Olga Durand
28 days ago
User N: Exactly. So a false negative means a real vulnerability went undetected; 'no known vulnerability' becomes one only if such a vulnerability exists but isn't found.
SA
Samira Hussain
1 month ago
User N: Exactly, and remember that a 'no known vulnerability' result counts as a false negative only if a real vulnerability exists but goes undetected.
DI
Diego Volkov
30 days ago
User N: That's a solid refinement. In this question, CA is a false negative only if a real vulnerability exists but goes undetected by the scan.
JO
Joshua Adams
1 month ago
User M: I was confused too, thinking no known vulnerability meant nothing to worry about, until the explanation showed undetected flaws still matter.
ST
Steven Nelson
27 days ago
User N: Exactly. The subtle point is that 'no known vulnerability' is a false negative only when a real vulnerability exists and the scan fails to detect it.
IV
Ivan Esposito
1 month ago
Yeah, C fits with that idea and undetected flaws cause false negatives.
BR
Brian Turner
29 days ago
User N: That's true, but remember a false negative means a vulnerability exists yet isn't detected; C only implies undetected flaws if they actually exist.
KH
Khanh Kang
28 days ago
That's true, but the subtle distinction is that C requires an existing vulnerability that the scan fails to detect; otherwise it's just no vulnerabilities.
KA
Karen Allen
30 days ago
I was stuck between C and the undetected flaws idea, and that explanation clarified that no known vulnerability can still hide issues.
HA
Harsh Bansal
28 days ago
User N: I agree, C fits, but false negatives happen only if an actual vulnerability exists and isn’t detected by the scan.
RI
Ritu Nair
1 month ago
You're right, C signals no known vulnerabilities, but the key distinction is it could hide undetected flaws if the scan missed them due to outdated signatures or misconfiguration.
PA
Pallavi Malhotra
30 days ago
User N: Exactly, C shows no known vulnerabilities, but remember the nuance: a vulnerability can exist yet remain undetected due to outdated signatures or misconfiguration.
JI
Jian Yamamoto
1 month ago
I also hesitated between C and A, thinking no vulnerability means safe, but false negatives happen when an actual flaw goes undetected.
RA
Rajesh Sharma
28 days ago
Agree with your hesitation. C is the false negative: no known vulnerability shown, yet an actual flaw may remain undetected.
EL
Elizabeth Mitchell
27 days ago
User N: You're right; but remember that 'no known vulnerability' doesn't prove safety; a vulnerability might exist and be undetected by that scan.
SA
Sanjay Dubey
30 days ago
You're right; C can still hide an undetected flaw. The key difference is existence versus detection: a vulnerability exists but the scan misses it, making it a false negative.
TA
Tariq Hossain
28 days ago
User N: I agree; the distinction between existence and detection is the core point here, since a false negative only arises when a real flaw goes undetected.
AN
Anjali Agarwal
1 month ago
I similarly wavered between C and A, and the phrase no known vulnerability sounded safe, but undetected flaws clarified false negatives.
PA
Patricia Jones
27 days ago
That's true, but a crucial distinction is that "no known vulnerability" can still hide an actual flaw if the scanner misses it; C remains the false negative example.
AI
Aisha Jamil
1 month ago
You're right. The tricky part is the flaw exists but the scan failed to detect it, often due to outdated signatures or misconfigured scanners.
PA
Pavel Rodriguez
1 month ago
I was torn between C and A, thinking no vulnerability meant secure. Your note on missing detection cleared that up.
NE
Neha Mishra
29 days ago
User N: That's right, C is the false negative; A would be a false positive, so the mix-up is understandable and now clear.
PO
Pooja Sharma
1 month ago
User N: That makes sense; C is a no-vulnerability result, but if a flaw exists and the scanner misses it, it’s a false negative.
JU
Julien Laurent
30 days ago
User N: That's right, another nuance is that credentialed scans can reveal hidden flaws missed by unauthenticated scans.
JE
Jessica Hill
1 month ago
User N: I think so. The key difference is a false negative hides a real flaw, and if the scan misses it because of old signatures or misconfig, it still exists even though the report says safe.
TA
Tao Lee
28 days ago
That's true, but the key nuance is the vulnerability must exist. No known vulnerability means the flaw could still be present but undetected.
HA
Hanna Bruno
1 month ago
Why is C the correct choice over A or B when C implies no known vulnerabilities but undetected flaws exist?
RI
Ritu Chauhan
29 days ago
That's close, but the subtle distinction is that A is a false positive and B is outdated remediation, while C reflects a scan showing no known vulnerabilities while one exists.
RO
Robert Campbell
29 days ago
User N: Exactly, A is a false positive and B is outdated remediation, and C truly hides undetected risk.
RY
Ryan Hill
1 month ago
I was torn between B and C too, the no known vulnerability idea confused me. The explanation about undetected flaws clarified it.
CA
Carlos Laurent
28 days ago
User N: That's true. The key idea is that C shows no known vulnerabilities even if undetected flaws exist, which is why it indicates a false negative.
ME
Melissa Harris
1 month ago
Because C shows no vulnerability found even though one exists, that's a true false negative. A is a false positive for a non-existent issue, and B is outdated or remediated data, not an undetected flaw.
KU
Kunal Tiwari
28 days ago
User N: You're right to ask. The subtlety is that C means no known vulnerability was detected; if one exists, that's a false negative, whereas A/B describe different issues.
AR
Arjun Kumar
1 month ago
I disagree because C could be a true negative when no vulnerabilities exist; false negatives require an existing flaw that fails to be detected.
BR
Brian Walker
1 month ago
True negatives occur when nothing is vulnerable; false negatives occur when a real vulnerability is missed. C is the false negative only if a vulnerability exists but is not detected.
BI
Bilal Aziz
29 days ago
That's right; C is a false negative only if a real vulnerability exists and the scan misses it, otherwise it would be a true negative.
AR
Arjun Kapoor
1 month ago
User N: That's a subtle point; the false negative occurs only if a vulnerability exists but goes undetected, so C is a false negative in that scenario.
EM
Emily Thompson
30 days ago
User N: That's a subtle distinction. C is a false negative only when a vulnerability exists but goes undetected, otherwise it's a true negative.
ME
Melissa Wright
1 month ago
User N: I had the same confusion around C; if nothing exists, is it still a false negative? Your explanation clarified that.
AN
Antoine Colombo
30 days ago
User N: That's a subtle point. A false negative means a real vulnerability exists but goes undetected; if nothing exists, C is a true negative, not a false one.
FA
Fairy
23 days ago
Exactly, D is about current threats, not detection failures.
JA
Jaclyn
28 days ago
D is definitely not a false negative. It’s about zero-day awareness.
AR
Ardella
1 month ago
C is tricky. No known vulnerability doesn’t mean it’s false negative.
VI
Vilma
1 month ago
I lean towards A too. It’s misleading to report a non-existent issue.
HU
Huey
1 month ago
True, but B is more about missing a remediation, not a false negative.
CA
Cassi
2 months ago
But B could also be a false negative, right? If it's already fixed?
AL
Alyce
2 months ago
I agree, A makes sense. It shows a flaw in detection.
FA
Fairy
2 months ago
I think it's A. A vulnerability that doesn't exist is a classic false negative.
AP
Apolonia
2 months ago
I disagree with B), it’s not a false negative if it’s already fixed.
PA
Patti
2 months ago
Surprised that D) is even an option here!
MI
Mi
2 months ago
C) just means no vulnerabilities found, right?
JI
Jina
3 months ago
I think B) makes more sense as a false negative.
BE
Becky
3 months ago
A) is definitely a false negative.
SH
Shalon
3 months ago
I feel like D is tricky because it mentions a zero-day, but if it has a known fix, wouldn’t that mean it’s not a false negative?
ME
Melissa
3 months ago
I’m a bit confused. Isn’t C just saying there’s no vulnerability at all? That doesn’t seem like a false negative to me.
AL
Alfred
3 months ago
I remember practicing with similar questions, and I think B could also fit since it’s about something that was there but isn’t anymore.
KR
Kristine
4 months ago
I think a false negative means the scan misses something that’s actually there, so maybe A? But I’m not entirely sure.