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 using IAM roles for Amazon EC2 to grant permissions to an application. The application makes API calls to DynamoDB and S3. After deploying, the application fails to access DynamoDB. The developer verifies the IAM role has the correct DynamoDB permissions. 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 IAM role is not attached to the EC2 instance profile.
For an EC2 instance to use an IAM role, the role must be attached to an EC2 instance profile, which is the container that passes the role's credentials to the instance via the instance metadata service. Even if the IAM role has the correct DynamoDB permissions, if it is not associated with the instance profile, the application will not receive temporary credentials and will fail to access DynamoDB.
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 IAM role does not have a trust policy for EC2.
Why it's wrong here
The trust policy is necessary but the role already allows EC2 to assume it; otherwise S3 would also fail.
✓
The IAM role is not attached to the EC2 instance profile.
Why this is correct
The instance profile must be associated with the EC2 instance for the application to use the role.
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 DynamoDB table is in a different region than the EC2 instance.
Why it's wrong here
Cross-region access is possible; the error would not be a permission error.
✗
The application is using the wrong AWS SDK.
Why it's wrong here
The SDK version does not affect IAM role permissions.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume simply having the correct IAM role with proper permissions is sufficient, overlooking the mandatory step of attaching the role to an EC2 instance profile for credential delivery.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The instance profile acts as a wrapper for the IAM role and is a required resource when launching an EC2 instance with a role; the AWS CLI command `aws ec2 associate-iam-instance-profile` explicitly links the profile to the instance. Under the hood, the instance metadata service (IMDS) at `169.254.169.254` provides temporary security credentials only when the instance profile is attached, and the SDK's default credential chain checks this endpoint. A common real-world scenario is when a developer creates the IAM role but forgets to create or associate the instance profile, leading to silent credential failures.
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 IAM role is not attached to the EC2 instance profile. — For an EC2 instance to use an IAM role, the role must be attached to an EC2 instance profile, which is the container that passes the role's credentials to the instance via the instance metadata service. Even if the IAM role has the correct DynamoDB permissions, if it is not associated with the instance profile, the application will not receive temporary credentials and will fail to access DynamoDB.
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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