DEA-C01 Data Operations and Support Practice Question
A data engineer is using Amazon Managed Workflows for Apache Airflow (Amazon MWAA) to orchestrate a data pipeline. The engineer needs to ensure that the Airflow environment can access an Amazon S3 bucket to read and write data. The S3 bucket is in the same AWS account and Region as the MWAA environment. Which configuration is required to allow MWAA to access the S3 bucket?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is thinking that a bucket policy or Secrets Manager is needed, when the MWAA execution role's IAM policy is the primary mechanism.
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
✓
Attach an IAM policy to the MWAA execution role that grants the necessary S3 permissions.
MWAA environments use an execution role that is assumed by the Airflow components. To grant access to S3, you attach an IAM policy to this role with the necessary S3 permissions. This is the standard and recommended approach. The execution role must also have a trust policy that allows MWAA to assume it, but that is created automatically when you create the environment.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Attach an IAM policy to the MWAA execution role that grants the necessary S3 permissions.
Why this is correct
Amazon MWAA uses an execution role that grants the Airflow environment permissions to access AWS services. To allow MWAA to read and write to S3, you must attach an IAM policy to this execution role with the appropriate s3:GetObject, s3:PutObject, and s3:ListBucket permissions. This is the standard method for granting MWAA access to S3.
- ✗
Configure the S3 bucket policy to allow the MWAA service principal.
Why it's wrong here
While an S3 bucket policy can grant access, it is not the primary method for MWAA. The MWAA execution role's IAM policy is the recommended way. A bucket policy alone would not be sufficient if the execution role lacks permissions, and it is not required if the IAM policy is correctly attached. The question asks for the required configuration.
- ✗
Enable public access on the S3 bucket and use the S3 REST API with presigned URLs.
Why it's wrong here
Making the bucket public is a security risk and not required. MWAA can access S3 privately using IAM roles. Presigned URLs are used for temporary access to specific objects, not for general read/write access from a service. This method is insecure and impractical for a data pipeline.
- ✗
Store S3 credentials in AWS Secrets Manager and reference them in the Airflow connection.
Why it's wrong here
Using Secrets Manager to store credentials is not necessary for MWAA to access S3 within the same account. MWAA uses IAM roles for authentication, which is more secure and avoids managing long-term credentials. This approach adds complexity and is not the recommended way for same-account access.
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 |
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Amazon Web Services exam blueprint
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