This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 developer is configuring cross-account access for an S3 bucket. The source account (111111111111) wants to allow the target account (222222222222) to write objects to the bucket. The developer attaches the following bucket policy. However, the write operation fails with AccessDenied. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The target account has not attached an IAM policy granting the user or role s3:PutObject
Option A is correct because cross-account S3 access requires both a bucket policy that grants the target account principal (or a resource-based policy) AND an IAM policy in the target account that explicitly allows the user or role to perform the s3:PutObject action. Without the target account's IAM policy, the request is denied even if the bucket policy permits it, as the target account's principal lacks the necessary permissions to make the call.
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.
✓
The target account has not attached an IAM policy granting the user or role s3:PutObject
Why this is correct
Cross-account access requires both the resource-based policy (bucket policy) and an IAM policy in the target account.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The bucket has an S3 ACL that denies the target account
Why it's wrong here
ACLs are legacy and not commonly used; bucket policy would override.
✗
The bucket policy does not allow s3:PutObject for the target account
Why it's wrong here
The policy explicitly allows s3:PutObject.
✗
The bucket is encrypted with SSE-KMS and the target account lacks KMS permissions
Why it's wrong here
No encryption key is mentioned in the scenario.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume a bucket policy alone is sufficient for cross-account access, overlooking the requirement for an IAM policy in the target account to authorize the principal making the request.
Trap categories for this question
Scenario analysis trap
No encryption key is mentioned in the scenario.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cross-account S3 access follows a two-step authorization model: the resource-based policy (bucket policy) must grant the target account principal access, and the target account's IAM policy must grant the same principal the necessary action (e.g., s3:PutObject). This is because AWS evaluates both the resource policy and the identity-based policy; if either denies, the request fails. In practice, developers often forget the target account's IAM policy, leading to this common AccessDenied error.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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: The target account has not attached an IAM policy granting the user or role s3:PutObject — Option A is correct because cross-account S3 access requires both a bucket policy that grants the target account principal (or a resource-based policy) AND an IAM policy in the target account that explicitly allows the user or role to perform the s3:PutObject action. Without the target account's IAM policy, the request is denied even if the bucket policy permits it, as the target account's principal lacks the necessary permissions to make the call.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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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