In the context of the CORS (Cross-origin resource sharing) misconfiguration, which of the following statements...

CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) is a mechanism that allows servers to specify which origins can access their resources, enhancing security for cross-origin requests. A common misconfiguration occurs with theAccess-Control-Allow-OriginandAccess-Control-Allow-Credentialsheaders. WhenAccess-Control-Allow-Originis set to * (wildcard, allowing all origins), it permits any domain to make requests. However, ifAccess-Control-Allow-Credentialsis set to true (allowing credentials like cookies or HTTP authentication), this creates a security risk. Browsers will block such requests because sending credentials with a wildcard origin violates CORS security policies, but an attacker could exploit this misconfiguration to trick a victim’s browser into making unauthorized requests if other controls are absent.

Option A is correct because the combination of Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * and Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true is exploitable, as it enables potential credential leakage or unauthorized access. Option B is incorrect because Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: false disables credential sending, reducing exploitability. Option C is incorrect because the value of Access-Control-Allow-Credentials is not irrelevant; it must be false with a wildcard origin to comply with security standards. Option D ("All of the above") is incorrect as only A holds true. This is a key topic in the CAP syllabus under "CORS Misconfiguration" and "Client-Side Security."References: SecOps Group CAP Documents - "CORS Configuration," "Security Misconfigurations," and "OWASP Secure Headers" sections.