A company hosts a web application on AWS that uses Amazon CloudFront for content delivery and an Application Load Balancer (ALB) in front of Amazon EC2 instances. The security team wants to protect the application against common web exploits such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). They need a managed service that can inspect incoming HTTP/HTTPS requests and block malicious traffic before it reaches the application servers. Which AWS service should the company use to meet these requirements?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
Best answer
AWS WAF
AWS WAF is a web application firewall that monitors and filters HTTP/HTTPS traffic to protect against attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting. It integrates directly with CloudFront and ALB, making it the correct choice for this scenario.
Distractor review
AWS Shield Advanced
AWS Shield Advanced provides enhanced DDoS protection against large-scale network and transport layer attacks. It does not provide application-layer inspection or filtering for web exploits like SQL injection or XSS.
Distractor review
AWS Firewall Manager
AWS Firewall Manager is a security management service that allows you to centrally configure and manage firewall rules across accounts and resources, including AWS WAF rules. However, it does not directly inspect traffic; it is a policy management tool, not the inspection engine itself.
Distractor review
Amazon Inspector
Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability management service that automatically scans workloads for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure. It does not provide real-time traffic filtering or protection against web application attacks.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Related practice questions
Related CLF-C02 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
AWS shared responsibility model practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS shared responsibility model.
AWS Cloud Practitioner cloud concepts practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS Cloud Practitioner cloud concepts.
AWS IAM practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS IAM.
AWS pricing practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS pricing.
AWS support plans practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS support plans.
AWS S3 practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS S3.
AWS EC2 practice questions
Practise CLF-C02 questions linked to AWS EC2.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A developer needs to launch a test server for a new application prototype. The developer logs into the AWS Management Console, selects an Amazon EC2 instance type, configures the security group, and starts the instance. The instance is running within two minutes, and the developer did not need to submit a formal request to the company's IT procurement team or wait for approval from a cloud administrator. Which essential characteristic of cloud computing does this scenario best demonstrate?
Question 2
A solutions architect is planning a new web application on AWS. The workload will include 3 Amazon EC2 instances (t3.medium) running 24/7, an Application Load Balancer, and an Amazon RDS for MySQL db.t3.small database. The architect needs to estimate the monthly cost for the first year, considering different purchasing options (On-Demand, 1-year All Upfront Reserved Instance, and Compute Savings Plan). Which AWS tool should the architect use to create this estimate?
Question 3
A company's development team frequently needs temporary test environments. A developer can log into the AWS Management Console, select an Amazon EC2 instance type, configure storage, and launch the instance within minutes without any interaction with the IT infrastructure team. This capability is an example of which essential characteristic of cloud computing?
Question 4
A company's finance team needs to analyze AWS spending in detail. They require a report that includes hourly cost data for each AWS service, each individual resource (e.g., a specific EC2 instance), and any cost allocation tags applied. The team plans to export this data to an Amazon S3 bucket and then import it into a custom business intelligence (BI) analytics dashboard. Which AWS tool should the finance team use to generate this level of detailed cost data?
Question 5
A company uses AWS for its development environment. The finance team wants to set a monthly budget of $10,000. They want to receive an email notification when the actual costs reach 80% of the budget ($8,000) and again when costs exceed the budget. The team needs a managed AWS service that can automatically send these alerts without requiring custom code or third-party tools. Which AWS service should the team use?
Question 6
A company uses AWS Organizations to manage multiple accounts. The security team needs to enforce a policy that restricts SSH access (port 22) from the internet (0.0.0.0/0) in all VPCs across all accounts. The team wants to centrally define the allowed rules and automatically apply them to newly created VPCs and security groups, while also automatically remediating any existing non-compliant security groups. Which AWS service should the team use?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: AWS WAF — AWS WAF is a web application firewall that helps protect web applications from common web exploits that could affect application availability, compromise security, or consume excessive resources. It allows you to create rules to filter web traffic based on conditions such as IP addresses, HTTP headers, and URI strings. AWS WAF can be integrated with Amazon CloudFront, an Application Load Balancer, or Amazon API Gateway. In this scenario, the company needs to block SQL injection and XSS attacks, which are application-layer attacks specifically addressed by WAF rules. AWS Shield is a DDoS protection service and does not provide application-layer filtering. AWS Firewall Manager is a policy management tool to centrally configure WAF and Shield rules across accounts, but it does not provide the inspection itself. Amazon Inspector is a vulnerability assessment service that scans for software vulnerabilities and unintended network exposure, not for real-time traffic filtering.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
Discussion
Sign in to join the discussion.