This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security. 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 is deploying a web application on EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer. The application needs to authenticate users using a third-party identity provider that supports SAML 2.0. The company wants to use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) to manage user permissions. Which solution should the developer implement?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an IAM identity provider for the SAML IdP and set up a role with a trust policy that allows federated users to assume it.
Option B is correct because it describes the standard AWS pattern for SAML 2.0 federation: creating an IAM identity provider for the external SAML IdP, then configuring an IAM role with a trust policy that allows users authenticated by that IdP to assume the role. This enables the application to use IAM to manage permissions for federated users without creating IAM users in the AWS account.
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.
✗
Use AWS Security Token Service (STS) to generate temporary credentials for the users.
Why it's wrong here
STS is used after federation, not for the IdP integration.
✓
Create an IAM identity provider for the SAML IdP and set up a role with a trust policy that allows federated users to assume it.
Why this is correct
Standard SAML federation with IAM.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Store the SAML metadata document in AWS Certificate Manager.
Why it's wrong here
ACM is for certificates, not SAML.
✗
Use Amazon Cognito user pools with a SAML identity provider.
Why it's wrong here
Cognito User Pools do not support SAML federation; Identity Pools do.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse Amazon Cognito (which also supports SAML) as the only way to federate with a third-party IdP, but the question explicitly requires IAM to manage permissions, making direct IAM SAML federation the correct choice.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When a SAML 2.0 IdP is configured in IAM, the trust policy of the role includes a condition that checks the `saml:aud` and `saml:iss` attributes from the SAML assertion. The application must call `AssumeRoleWithSAML` API, passing the SAML response from the IdP, to receive temporary AWS credentials (access key, secret key, session token) that are valid for up to 1 hour by default. This pattern is commonly used in enterprise single sign-on (SSO) scenarios where users authenticate via corporate Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) or Okta.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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.
Security — This question tests Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an IAM identity provider for the SAML IdP and set up a role with a trust policy that allows federated users to assume it. — Option B is correct because it describes the standard AWS pattern for SAML 2.0 federation: creating an IAM identity provider for the external SAML IdP, then configuring an IAM role with a trust policy that allows users authenticated by that IdP to assume the role. This enables the application to use IAM to manage permissions for federated users without creating IAM users in the AWS account.
What should I do if I get this DVA-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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Question Discussion
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