What risk is associated with a user not releasing an exclusive password?

When a user does not release an exclusive password, the most significant risk is that access to the account may be indefinitely restricted. This situation arises because exclusive passwords are designed to be used by a single user for a specific purpose, usually to perform sensitive operations or manage privileged accounts. If a password remains locked and is not released back to the vault, other authorized users cannot access that account.

This can lead to operational delays or a complete halt in accessing necessary resources, especially in critical situations where immediate access is required for maintenance or security tasks. Furthermore, if the exclusive password remains held by a single user who may be unavailable or no longer needs access, it poses a significant barrier, effectively locking out all other users who require access to perform their duties.

The other options, while they may reference potential issues associated with password management, do not capture the principal risk associated with failing to release exclusive passwords. Unlike being locked permanently, where user accounts can often be unlocked through administrative action, or the notion of auto-resetting after a timeout (which does not typically apply to exclusive passwords), the indefinite restriction of access highlights the operational impact that can arise from improper password management in a CyberArk environment.