A third-party vendor is moving a particular application to the end-of-life stage at the end of the current year. Which of the following is the most critical risk if the company chooses to continue…

Question

Options

• ALack of security updates
• BLack of new features
• CLack of support
• DLack of source code access

• A
  88% (14)
• B
  6% (1)
• D
  6% (1)

Explanation

When a vendor moves an application to end-of-life (EOL), the most critical risk is lack of security updates (A) - meaning newly discovered vulnerabilities will never be patched, leaving the system permanently exposed to exploits, malware, and compliance violations. This is a security risk with direct, measurable consequences (data breaches, regulatory fines), which is why it outweighs the other options in severity.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B (New features) - Missing new features is a business inconvenience, not a security or operational risk; the existing functionality still works.
• C (Lack of support) - Losing vendor support is a real operational challenge, but support can often be supplemented with third-party contractors or internal expertise; unpatched vulnerabilities cannot be "workarounded" the same way.
• D (Source code access) - Most commercial software is closed-source anyway, so this isn't a change introduced by EOL; it's also less immediately dangerous than unpatched CVEs.

Memory tip: Think of EOL software like an unguarded door - vendors stop fixing the locks (security patches), making it the #1 risk. When an exam asks about EOL risk, always anchor your thinking to security vulnerabilities, not convenience or features.

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