- A
An S3 bucket policy in Account B that allows the IAM user's ARN.
Why wrong: Without an IAM policy in Account A, the user is not authorized to make the request.
- B
An IAM policy in Account A allowing access to the S3 bucket, and a bucket policy in Account B allowing the IAM user.
Both policies are required for cross-account access.
- C
An IAM policy in Account A allowing access, and a bucket ACL in Account B granting access to the IAM user.
Why wrong: Bucket ACLs are legacy and do not support cross-account IAM users; bucket policies are used.
- D
Create an IAM role in Account B that the user can assume, and attach a bucket policy allowing the role.
Why wrong: While this is another valid approach, the question asks for the correct combination to grant direct access; role assumption is a different mechanism.
DVA-C02 Security Practice Question
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 developer needs to grant an IAM user in Account A access to an S3 bucket in Account B. What is the correct combination of policies?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
An IAM policy in Account A allowing access to the S3 bucket, and a bucket policy in Account B allowing the IAM user.
Option B is correct because cross-account S3 access requires two policies: an IAM policy in the source account (Account A) granting the user permission to perform S3 actions on the bucket, and a bucket policy in the target account (Account B) that explicitly allows the IAM user's ARN. The bucket policy acts as a resource-based policy that delegates access to the external principal, while the IAM policy authorizes the user to make the request. Without both, the request will be denied by either the source account's implicit deny or the target account's default deny.
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.
- ✗
An S3 bucket policy in Account B that allows the IAM user's ARN.
Why it's wrong here
Without an IAM policy in Account A, the user is not authorized to make the request.
- ✓
An IAM policy in Account A allowing access to the S3 bucket, and a bucket policy in Account B allowing the IAM user.
Why this is correct
Both policies are required for cross-account access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
An IAM policy in Account A allowing access, and a bucket ACL in Account B granting access to the IAM user.
Why it's wrong here
Bucket ACLs are legacy and do not support cross-account IAM users; bucket policies are used.
- ✗
Create an IAM role in Account B that the user can assume, and attach a bucket policy allowing the role.
Why it's wrong here
While this is another valid approach, the question asks for the correct combination to grant direct access; role assumption is a different mechanism.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often think a bucket policy alone is sufficient for cross-account access (Option A), forgetting that the IAM user's own account must also explicitly authorize the action through an IAM policy.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, cross-account S3 access uses the AWS IAM policy evaluation logic where both identity-based policies (IAM) and resource-based policies (bucket policy) must explicitly allow the action; the request is evaluated with a union of permissions, but the source account's IAM policy must not deny the action. A subtle behavior is that if the bucket policy uses a Principal element with a wildcard (e.g., `"AWS": "arn:aws:iam::AccountB:root"`), it allows all IAM users in Account B, but for cross-account access to an individual user, you must specify the full user ARN. In real-world scenarios, this dual-policy approach is essential for audit trails because CloudTrail logs show the user's ARN, not a role session, enabling precise tracking.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DVA-C02 question test?
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: An IAM policy in Account A allowing access to the S3 bucket, and a bucket policy in Account B allowing the IAM user. — Option B is correct because cross-account S3 access requires two policies: an IAM policy in the source account (Account A) granting the user permission to perform S3 actions on the bucket, and a bucket policy in the target account (Account B) that explicitly allows the IAM user's ARN. The bucket policy acts as a resource-based policy that delegates access to the external principal, while the IAM policy authorizes the user to make the request. Without both, the request will be denied by either the source account's implicit deny or the target account's default deny.
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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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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