DBS-C01 Database Security Practice Question
A company is migrating an on-premises Oracle database to Amazon RDS for Oracle. The compliance team requires that all database connections use SSL/TLS and that users authenticate using IAM database authentication. The database migration is completed, but the application team reports that connections using IAM authentication are failing. The company has already enabled IAM database authentication on the RDS instance. What is the most likely cause of the failure?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume enabling IAM authentication on the RDS instance is sufficient, overlooking the mandatory step of creating the database user with the `IDENTIFIED WITH AWS_AUTHENTICATION` clause and granting the necessary privileges.
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
✓
The database user has not been granted the necessary privileges for IAM authentication.
IAM database authentication requires that the database user be created with the `IDENTIFIED WITH AWS_AUTHENTICATION` clause in Oracle. Without this privilege, the RDS instance will reject IAM-authenticated connections even if IAM authentication is enabled at the instance level. The application team must ensure the database user has been granted the `AWS_ORACLE_EXTENSIONS` role and that the user is mapped to an IAM policy allowing `rds-db:connect`.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The application is using an outdated root CA certificate for SSL.
Why it's wrong here
While SSL is required, the error is specific to authentication, not SSL handshake.
- ✗
The Security Group does not allow inbound traffic from the application.
Why it's wrong here
Network connectivity would cause a timeout, not an authentication error.
- ✓
The database user has not been granted the necessary privileges for IAM authentication.
Why this is correct
Database users must be created with 'IDENTIFIED WITH AWS_AUTHENTICATION' and granted 'rds_iam' role to use IAM authentication.
- ✗
The RDS instance is using a different KMS key for encryption.
Why it's wrong here
KMS keys are unrelated to IAM database authentication.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 1,663 original DBS-C01 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This DBS-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 DBS-C01 exam.