AIF-C01 Practice Question: Refer to the exhibit

Exhibit

arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/service-role/AmazonSageMaker-ExecutionRole-20210101T123456

Attached policy:
{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:GetObject",
                "s3:PutObject"
            ],
            "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/*"
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "kms:Decrypt",
            "Resource": "arn:aws:kms:us-east-1:123456789012:key/1234abcd-12ab-34cd-56ef-1234567890ab"
        }
    ]
}

Refer to the exhibit. A data scientist is trying to run a SageMaker training job that uses training data from an S3 bucket encrypted with the specified KMS key. The training job fails with an access denied error. The IAM role shown is attached to the training job. What is the missing permission?

⚠ Common exam trap

The AIF-C01 exam often tests the misconception that `kms:Decrypt` alone is sufficient for SageMaker to access encrypted S3 data, but the service requires `kms:CreateGrant` to create a delegation grant for its internal principal.

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

kms:CreateGrant

When a SageMaker training job accesses encrypted S3 data, it must be granted permission to use the KMS key for decryption. The `kms:CreateGrant` permission allows SageMaker to create a grant on the KMS key, which is required for the service to decrypt the data on behalf of the user. Without this permission, the training job fails with an access denied error even if other KMS actions are allowed.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
s3:ListBucket
Why it's wrong here
The role already has GetObject; ListBucket may be required depending on the algorithm, but the error is likely KMS-related.
✗
kms:GenerateDataKey
Why it's wrong here
Used for encryption, not decryption.
✓
kms:CreateGrant
Why this is correct
Required for SageMaker to delegate decrypt permissions to its service roles.
✗
s3:GetBucketLocation
Why it's wrong here
Not needed for accessing objects.

Quick reference

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Storage Class	Min Duration	Retrieval	Use Case
S3 Standard	None	Immediate	Frequently accessed data
S3 Standard-IA	30 days	Immediate	Infrequent access, rapid retrieval
S3 One Zone-IA	30 days	Immediate	Non-critical infrequent data
S3 Intelligent-Tiering	None	Immediate–hours	Unknown or changing access patterns
S3 Glacier Instant	90 days	Milliseconds	Archive with instant retrieval
S3 Glacier Flexible	90 days	Minutes–hours	Archive, flexible retrieval
S3 Glacier Deep Archive	180 days	Hours	Long-term compliance archive

Go deeper

AIF-C01 Practice Question: Refer to the exhibit

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Related to this question