Which statement about wildcards in PA-DSS is true?

• A. They indicate major changes
• B. They are the only variable element indicating minor, non-security changes
• C. They have no meaning
• D. They indicate security-critical fixes only

Answer: (B)

In PA-DSS, changes to a payment application are tracked and classified to determine if re-validation is needed. Wildcards are used specifically to indicate a minor, non-security change. This signaling is important because it helps assessors know that the update does not affect the security controls or data protection, and thus doesn’t require the full re-validation path reserved for security changes. Since wildcards are the dedicated marker for these small, non-security updates, they are the only variable element used to signal this particular type of change.

The other statements don’t fit because wildcards do have meaning and aren’t meant to flag major changes or security-critical fixes. Major changes and security-related fixes would be indicated in other ways and would typically trigger additional validation requirements.