DEA-C01 Data Security and Governance Practice Question
A data engineer needs to allow an IAM user to rotate the secret in AWS Secrets Manager for an RDS database. Which IAM action should be included in the policy?
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
✓
secretsmanager:RotateSecret
The secretsmanager:RotateSecret action allows the user to initiate rotation of a secret. Option A is correct. secretsmanager:GetSecretValue only retrieves the secret value, not rotate it.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
secretsmanager:RotateSecret
Why this is correct
The `secretsmanager:RotateSecret` action authorises triggering immediate rotation of a stored secret, satisfying the requirement to rotate the RDS credential. It differs from `PutSecretValue`, which merely writes a new value without invoking the rotation Lambda, and from `UpdateSecret`, which modifies metadata or encryption rather than performing rotation.
- ✗
secretsmanager:PutSecretValue
Why it's wrong here
PutSecretValue writes a new version of a secret's value, but it does not initiate the rotation workflow or invoke the rotation Lambda. The required permission is secretsmanager:RotateSecret. PutSecretValue would be correct when manually updating a secret's stored value outside rotation.
- ✗
secretsmanager:UpdateSecret
Why it's wrong here
secretsmanager:UpdateSecret modifies secret metadata or creates a new version but does not perform the rotation workflow itself. It is tempting because rotation changes the secret value, yet the dedicated action required to rotate an RDS credential is secretsmanager:RotateSecret.
- ✗
secretsmanager:GetSecretValue
Why it's wrong here
GetSecretValue retrieves the stored secret's contents for application use; it does not perform rotation. Rotation requires the secretsmanager:RotateSecret action, which triggers the Lambda rotation function. GetSecretValue would be correct when an application needs to read credentials at runtime.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DEA-C01 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 DEA-C01 exam.