The answer is that S3 Block Public Access settings enabled at the account level are the most likely cause of the failure. This is because even a correctly formatted CloudFormation S3 bucket policy that grants public read access will be denied if the S3 Block Public Access settings are active at the account or bucket level, as these settings override any explicit policy permissions. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding that administrative permissions do not bypass S3 Block Public Access—a common trap where developers assume full admin rights allow any action. Remember that S3 Block Public Access acts as a security guard that stops public access regardless of the policy’s correctness. A useful memory tip is “Block before Bucket Policy”: if public access is blocked at the account level, no bucket policy can override it.
DVA-C02 Deployment Practice Question
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of deployment. 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 using AWS CloudFormation to deploy a stack that includes an Amazon S3 bucket with a bucket policy that grants public read access. The stack creation fails with the error 'Access Denied for bucket: bucket-policy does not allow access.' The developer has full administrative permissions in AWS. The developer verifies that the bucket policy is correctly formatted. What is the most likely cause of the failure?
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 S3 Block Public Access settings are enabled at the account level, preventing the bucket policy from granting public access.
Option A is correct because S3 bucket policies that grant public access require the S3 Block Public Access settings to be disabled at the account or bucket level. Option B is wrong because the bucket name is not the issue. Option C is wrong because KMS is not involved. Option D is wrong because the policy is correct.
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 developer does not have permissions to create S3 buckets.
Why it's wrong here
The developer has full admin permissions.
✗
The S3 bucket name is already in use by another account.
Why it's wrong here
The error is about access, not naming conflict.
✓
The S3 Block Public Access settings are enabled at the account level, preventing the bucket policy from granting public access.
Why this is correct
S3 Block Public Access settings override bucket policies that grant public access.
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 S3 bucket is encrypted with AWS KMS, and the bucket policy does not include kms:Decrypt permissions.
Why it's wrong here
The error is about bucket policy access, not KMS.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 DVA-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Deployment — This question tests Deployment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The S3 Block Public Access settings are enabled at the account level, preventing the bucket policy from granting public access. — Option A is correct because S3 bucket policies that grant public access require the S3 Block Public Access settings to be disabled at the account or bucket level. Option B is wrong because the bucket name is not the issue. Option C is wrong because KMS is not involved. Option D is wrong because the policy is correct.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Identify which DVA-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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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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
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