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 troubleshooting access to an S3 bucket from an EC2 instance. The instance has an IAM role with an attached policy that allows s3:GetObject on the bucket. However, the application is receiving Access Denied errors. What is a likely cause?
The IAM role does not have s3:ListBucket permission.
Why wrong: ListBucket is not required for GetObject.
The EC2 instance is not associated with an instance profile.
Why wrong: It is associated with an IAM role.
The bucket policy has an explicit deny that overrides the IAM allow.
Explicit deny in bucket policy takes precedence.
The bucket has S3 Block Public Access enabled.
Why wrong: Block Public Access does not affect IAM role access.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
The bucket policy has an explicit deny that overrides the IAM allow.
Option C is correct because if the bucket policy explicitly denies access, the deny overrides any allow from IAM. Option A is wrong because S3 does not require S3 Block Public Access for IAM role access. Option B is wrong because the instance profile needs an IAM role, not an IAM user. Option D is wrong because S3 does not require the s3:ListBucket permission to get an object if you know the key.
Key principle: ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
The IAM role does not have s3:ListBucket permission.
Why it's wrong here
ListBucket is not required for GetObject.
The EC2 instance is not associated with an instance profile.
Why it's wrong here
It is associated with an IAM role.
The bucket policy has an explicit deny that overrides the IAM allow.
Why this is correct
Explicit deny in bucket policy takes precedence.
Related concept
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
The bucket has S3 Block Public Access enabled.
Why it's wrong here
Block Public Access does not affect IAM role access.
Common exam traps
ACLs are processed top to bottom. The first matching entry wins, and an implicit deny usually exists at the end.
Detailed technical explanation
ACL questions test precision: source, destination, protocol, port and direction. A generally correct ACL can still fail if it is applied on the wrong interface or in the wrong direction.
Key takeaway
ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.
Real-world example
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
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related DVA-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
Security — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Security practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All DVA-C02 questions
1,616 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
DVA-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Development with AWS Services.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Security.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Deployment.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Troubleshooting and Optimization.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 fundamentals.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 scenario.
Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Security — This question tests Security — Standard ACLs match source addresses..
The correct answer is: The bucket policy has an explicit deny that overrides the IAM allow. — Option C is correct because if the bucket policy explicitly denies access, the deny overrides any allow from IAM. Option A is wrong because S3 does not require S3 Block Public Access for IAM role access. Option B is wrong because the instance profile needs an IAM role, not an IAM user. Option D is wrong because S3 does not require the s3:ListBucket permission to get an object if you know the key.
Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related DVA-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.
Standard ACLs match source addresses.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 20, 2026
This DVA-C02 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 DVA-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.