PAP-001 Certified Professional - PingAccess Questions and Answers

When using multiple Access Token Managers, theSend Audienceoption ensures that tokens are scoped properly and validated against the intended resource/application.

Exact Extract:

“EnableSend Audiencein the token provider configuration to support environments with multiple Access Token Managers and enforce correct audience restrictions.”

Option A (Subject Attribute Name)is unrelated — it maps user identity but not token manager selection.

Option B (Send Audience)is correct — required when multiple ATMs are in use.

Option C (Use Token Introspection Endpoint)is optional and depends on deployment, not mandatory for multiple ATMs.

Option D (Client Secret)is part of OAuth client credentials, not specific to multiple ATMs.

PingAccess enforces step-up or multi-factor authentication usingAuthentication Requirements, which can be applied to specific resources within an application.

Exact Extract:

“Authentication requirements allow administrators to configure additional authentication (for example, MFA) when accessing sensitive application resources.”

Option A (UI Authentication)applies to access to theadmin console, not application resources.

Option B (Auth Token Management)relates to OAuth token lifetimes and refresh, not MFA enforcement.

Option C (Authentication Requirements)is correct — these rules enforce MFA or step-up auth for specific URLs/resources.

Option D (Authentication Challenge Policy)governs how failed auth challenges are presented but does not enforce MFA.

PingAccess supports flexible path matching for resources using wildcards. If the requirement is to matchany path that contains a folder named "escalated", the correct format is:

*/escalated/→ matchesany locationof theescalateddirectory within the path.

Exact Extract:

“The asterisk (*) wildcard matches zero or more characters. Use it in resource paths to match folders at any depth.”

Option A (escalated/)only matches when the resource starts with “escalated/” at the root, not at arbitrary depth.

Option B (*/escalated/)is correct — it matches theescalatedfolder no matter where it occurs.

Option C (*/escalated/+ )is incorrect —+is not a valid PingAccess wildcard operator.

*Option D (/escalated/)matches only when the path starts with “escalated” at the first level, not arbitrary positions.

Step-up authentication in PingAccess is enforced throughAuthentication Requirement Rules. If users are not prompted, the likely issues are:

The rule is missing from the application/resource.

The rule’s minimum authentication context does not include MFA.

Exact Extract:

“Authentication requirement rules determine whether PingAccess will challenge a user with additional authentication (such as MFA). Ensure that the rule is applied to the resource and that the authentication context is set correctly.”

Option Ais incorrect — rejection handlers define error handling, not MFA enforcement.

Option Bis correct — verify the authentication requirement rule is applied.

Option Cis correct — ensure the rule contains the right MFA requirements.

Option Dis incorrect — identity mappings do not enforce step-up authentication.

Option Eis incorrect — token validation rules check validity, not MFA levels.

Identity Mapping in PingAccess relies on attributes provided by thetoken provider(e.g., PingFederate, OIDC provider). If the desired attributes are not present in the dropdown, it means they are not being provided in the token or userinfo response.

Exact Extract:

“Attributes available in identity mappings are those provided in the web session by the token provider. If attributes are missing, they must be added to the token by the identity provider.”

Option Ais correct — the token provider administrator must configure the IdP to include the additional attributes.

Option Bis incorrect — rewrite rules modify content but do not supply new identity attributes.

Option Cis incorrect — developers cannot directly add identity attributes; they must come from the IdP.

Option Dis incorrect — Web Session Attribute rules only evaluate available attributes; they don’t create new ones.

When usingHTTP Basic Authentication(admin.auth=native), PingAccess only supports asingle administrative account(the default admin user). For multiple administrators, SSO integration (e.g., OIDC) is required.

Exact Extract:

“When admin authentication is set to native (HTTP Basic), only one administrative user is supported. For multiple admins, configure UI authentication with an OIDC provider.”

Option A (1000)is incorrect.

Option B (1)is correct — only one basic auth admin account.

Option C (10)andOption D (100)are incorrect.

Because the application context root is/parts, resource paths are defined relative to it. The correct relative path is:

/suspension/struts/manufacturer

Exact Extract:

“Resource matching begins at the context root. The most specific matching path is selected.”

Option Ais incorrect —/*/struts/manufacturerdoes not match because it starts with a wildcard, not the defined path.

Option Bis incorrect —/*/manufacturerwould match less specifically and at a different depth.

Option Cis correct — exact match relative to/parts.

Option Dis incorrect — too generic and not the best match.

When a back-end site requires HTTP Basic Authentication, PingAccess supports this via aBasic Authentication Site Authenticator. The authenticator is configured with credentials so that PingAccess can successfully authenticate to the target site.

Exact Extract:

“PingAccess can authenticate to target sites using a Site Authenticator. Use the Basic Authentication Site Authenticator when the site requires a username and password.”

Option Ais incorrect — identity mappings are used to forward user attributes, not for site-to-site authentication.

Option Bis incorrect — web sessions represent end-user sessions, not back-end credentials.

Option Cis correct — the Basic Authentication Site Authenticator should be configured on the Site.

Option Dis incorrect — mTLS authenticates with certificates, not username/password.

PingAccess supportsone primary administrative console (active)and any number ofreplica administrative consoles. Engines must be configured to connect to theactive console, with replicas available for failover.

Exact Extract:

“In a clustered environment, PingAccess supports one clustered console (active) and replica consoles. Engines can connect to any console node for high availability.”

Option Ais incomplete — only one replica limits redundancy.

Option Bis incorrect — multiple active consoles are not supported.

Option Cis incorrect — cannot run two active consoles.

Option Dis correct — one active admin console with multiple replicas ensures HA.

For SSL termination, PingAccess requires aKey Pair(certificate + private key). During a POC/demo, when aself-signed certificateis used, the administrator can create it directly in theKey Pairssection of the console.

Exact Extract:

“Use the Key Pairs section to create self-signed certificates for testing or proof-of-concept deployments. For production, import a PKCS#12 file containing a certificate chain and private key.”

Option Ais incorrect — Certificates store trust anchors (CAs), not SSL termination certs.

Option Bis incorrect — an internal CA-signed cert requires PKCS#12 import, not self-signed creation.

Option Cis incorrect — a publicly trusted CA is not used for a demo phase.

Option Dis correct — creating a new certificate in Key Pairs generates a self-signed cert suitable for demos.

PingAccess usesobfuscated keysto secure sensitive configuration values (like passwords). Theobfuscate.bat(Windows) orobfuscate.sh(Linux) script is used to generate a new key and protect sensitive data.

Exact Extract:

“Useobfuscate.[bat|sh]to generate a new obfuscation key for protecting configuration values.”

Option A (db-passwd-rotate.bat)is not a valid PingAccess script.

Option B (memoryoptions.bat)configures JVM memory, not encryption.

Option C (run.bat)starts PingAccess.

Option D (obfuscate.bat)is correct — it is used to protect sensitive configuration.

The pattern/images/sitel/*matches all subpaths and files under the/images/sitel/directory, including nested paths.

Exact Extract:

“The asterisk (*) matches zero or more characters within the path. For example,/images/sitel/*matches all resources under thesitelfolder.”

Option Ais incorrect — it references/aitel/instead of/sitel/.

Option Bis incorrect —/site*matches strings beginning with “site”, but may also match “siteX” incorrectly.

Option Cis incorrect — it only matches resources under/english/, missing other folders.

Option Dis correct —/images/sitel/*covers all given examples.

When configuring PingAccess to use PingFederate as theStandard Token Providerfor runtime engines, PingAccess must know how to contact PingFederate. The configuration requires theHost(PingFederate base URL).

Exact Extract:

“When configuring the Standard Token Provider, specify the PingFederate host to which PingAccess engines will connect for token validation.”

Option A (Issuer)is part of OIDC metadata but not required explicitly in this configuration.

Option B (Client ID)is needed for OAuth clients but not when defining the token provider connection itself.

Option C (Host)is correct — this is required to connect to PingFederate.

Option D (Port)may be included within the host definition (host:port) but is not the required field.

PingAccess automatically creates configurationarchive backupswhenever changes are made. These are stored in thedata/archivedirectory.

Exact Extract:

“PingAccess stores configuration archive files in thePA_HOME/data/archivedirectory.”

Option A (tools)is incorrect — contains administrative scripts.

Option B (conf)is incorrect — holds configuration files likerun.properties.

Option C (data)is correct — archives are stored underdata/archive.

Option D (bin)is incorrect — contains executables and scripts.

When a backend application requires its own authentication (e.g., Basic Auth or mutual TLS), PingAccess uses aSite Authenticatorto inject the necessary credentials.

Exact Extract:

“Site Authenticators provide the credentials PingAccess uses when authenticating to target applications that require their own authentication mechanisms.”

Option A (Token Provider)is incorrect — this is used for OIDC/OAuth tokens, not site-level authentication.

Option B (Web Session)manages end-user sessions, not backend site authentication.

Option C (Site Authenticator)is correct — it handles authentication between PingAccess and the backend.

Option D (Access Control Rule)enforces authorization, not backend authentication.

When applications depend solely onheader-based identity mapping, attackers can attempt to bypass PingAccess by injecting headers directly into requests sent to the backend. To prevent spoofing, PingAccess should be configured to passcryptographically verifiable tokens(e.g.,ID tokens from OIDC) instead of relying on plain headers.

Exact Extract:

“Headers can be spoofed if not protected. Use signed tokens, such as ID tokens or JWTs, to provide strong identity assurance and prevent header injection attacks.”

Option A (Use ID Tokens)is correct — ID tokens are signed and verifiable, preventing spoofing.

Option B (Add Site Authenticator)protects PingAccess-to-site authentication, not client-to-API spoofing.

Option C (Require HTTPS)prevents eavesdropping but does not stop header spoofing from inside the network.

Option D (Use Target Host Header)ensures host header integrity but not user identity.

When upgrading a PingAccess cluster, theAdmin Console node must always be upgraded firstbefore any replica admin or engine nodes. This ensures that the configuration and schema changes introduced in the new version are properly applied and replicated.

Exact Extract (from PingAccess documentation):

“In a clustered environment, you must first upgrade theadministrative console nodebefore upgrading any replica administrative nodes or engine nodes.”

Why A is correct:

A. Upgrade the Admin Console— This is correct because the admin console node acts as the configuration master in a PingAccess cluster. Upgrading it first ensures the new version schema is available to replicas and engines.

Why the other options are incorrect:

B. Disable cluster communication— This is not required for standard upgrades. Cluster communication remains in place to synchronize changes after the upgrade.

C. Disable Key Rolling— Key rolling is unrelated to the upgrade process. It is a feature used for key rotation, not version upgrades.

D. Upgrade the Replica Admin— This is incorrect because upgrading a replica admin before the primary administrative console is against the documented procedure and would cause replication issues.

PingAccess installs as a Windows service. To remove or prevent automatic startup, theuninstall-service.batscript is used.

Exact Extract:

“On Windows, useinstall-service.batto install PingAccess as a service anduninstall-service.batto remove the service.”

Option A (init.bat)initializes environment variables but does not manage services.

Option B (uninstall-service.bat)is correct — it removes the Windows service, preventing auto-start.

Option C (remove-install.bat)is not a valid PingAccess script.

Option D (wrapper-service.bat)configures wrapper options, not service removal.