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SY0-501 · Question #20

Which of the following explains why vendors publish MD5 values when they provide software patches for their customers to download over the Internet?

The correct answer is A. The recipient can verify integrity of the software patch. Vendors publish MD5 values with software patches to enable recipients to verify that the downloaded file has not been altered or corrupted during transfer. This ensures the integrity of the software patch before installation.

Submitted by renata2k· Mar 4, 2026Introduction to Security

Question

Which of the following explains why vendors publish MD5 values when they provide software patches for their customers to download over the Internet?

Options

  • AThe recipient can verify integrity of the software patch.
  • BThe recipient can verify the authenticity of the site used to download the patch.
  • CThe recipient can request future updates to the software using the published MD5 value.
  • DThe recipient can successfully activate the new software patch.

How the community answered

(36 responses)
  • A
    83% (30)
  • B
    8% (3)
  • C
    3% (1)
  • D
    6% (2)

Why each option

Vendors publish MD5 values with software patches to enable recipients to verify that the downloaded file has not been altered or corrupted during transfer. This ensures the integrity of the software patch before installation.

AThe recipient can verify integrity of the software patch.Correct

MD5 is a cryptographic hash function that generates a unique, fixed-size string (hash value) from a file's content. By comparing the calculated MD5 hash of the downloaded software patch with the vendor-published MD5 value, the recipient can confirm the file's integrity, ensuring it is identical to the original and has not been tampered with or corrupted.

BThe recipient can verify the authenticity of the site used to download the patch.

MD5 values verify the integrity of the *file* itself, not the authenticity of the *website* used for download, which is typically confirmed by digital certificates and SSL/TLS.

CThe recipient can request future updates to the software using the published MD5 value.
DThe recipient can successfully activate the new software patch.

Concept tested: Software patch integrity verification using hash functions

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/cryptography-concepts#hashing

Topics

#MD5#integrity#hashing#software verification

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