- A
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.
- B
AWS Shield Advanced
Why wrong: 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.
- C
AWS Firewall Manager
Why wrong: 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.
- D
Amazon Inspector
Why wrong: 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.
CLF-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question
This CLF-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
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
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS WAF
AWS WAF is a managed web application firewall that helps protect web applications from common web exploits like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). It integrates directly with Amazon CloudFront and Application Load Balancers (ALB) to inspect incoming HTTP/HTTPS requests and block malicious traffic before it reaches the application servers. This makes it the correct choice for the security team's requirement to filter and block specific attack patterns at the application layer.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
AWS WAF
Why this is correct
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.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
AWS Shield Advanced
Why it's wrong here
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.
- ✗
AWS Firewall Manager
Why it's wrong here
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.
- ✗
Amazon Inspector
Why it's wrong here
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 traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Shield Advanced (Layer 3/4 DDoS protection) with AWS WAF (Layer 7 application-layer filtering), leading them to select Shield Advanced for web exploit protection instead of the correct service.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS WAF operates at Layer 7 (application layer) of the OSI model, allowing it to inspect the full HTTP/HTTPS request body, headers, and URI strings for malicious patterns. It uses customizable rules, including managed rule groups from AWS and third parties, to detect and block SQL injection attempts (e.g., patterns like ' OR 1=1) and XSS payloads (e.g., <script> tags). In a real-world scenario, if the ALB receives a request with a SQL injection attempt in a query parameter, AWS WAF can evaluate the request against its rule set and return a 403 Forbidden response before the request ever reaches the EC2 instances.
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.
TExam Day Tips
- 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.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Security and Compliance — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this CLF-C02 question test?
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — 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 managed web application firewall that helps protect web applications from common web exploits like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). It integrates directly with Amazon CloudFront and Application Load Balancers (ALB) to inspect incoming HTTP/HTTPS requests and block malicious traffic before it reaches the application servers. This makes it the correct choice for the security team's requirement to filter and block specific attack patterns at the application layer.
What should I do if I get this CLF-C02 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This CLF-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CLF-C02 exam.
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