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 securely store database credentials for a serverless application. Which AWS service should be used?
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why wrong: KMS manages encryption keys, not secrets.
Amazon DynamoDB
Why wrong: DynamoDB is not a secrets management service.
AWS Secrets Manager
Secrets Manager is built for secrets with rotation capabilities.
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why wrong: Parameter Store can store secrets but lacks automatic rotation.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Secrets Manager
AWS Secrets Manager is the correct service because it is purpose-built for securely storing, rotating, and managing database credentials and other secrets throughout their lifecycle. It integrates natively with Amazon RDS, Redshift, and DocumentDB to automatically rotate credentials, and it enforces encryption at rest using AWS KMS. For a serverless application, Secrets Manager provides a simple API call (e.g., GetSecretValue) to retrieve credentials without hardcoding them in code or environment variables.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why it's wrong here
KMS manages encryption keys, not secrets.
Amazon DynamoDB
Why it's wrong here
DynamoDB is not a secrets management service.
AWS Secrets Manager
Why this is correct
Secrets Manager is built for secrets with rotation capabilities.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why it's wrong here
Parameter Store can store secrets but lacks automatic rotation.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store (which can store secrets but lacks automatic rotation and deep RDS integration) with AWS Secrets Manager, leading them to choose Parameter Store when the question explicitly requires secure storage and management of database credentials for a serverless application.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, Secrets Manager uses envelope encryption with a customer master key (CMK) in KMS to encrypt each secret, and it supports automatic rotation by invoking a Lambda function that updates the secret and the database password simultaneously. A subtle behavior is that when you retrieve a secret with GetSecretValue, the response includes the secret string and the version ID, allowing you to pin to a specific version if needed. In a real-world serverless application using AWS Lambda, you can cache the secret in memory to reduce costs and latency, but you must handle rotation by refreshing the cache when the secret version changes.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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 — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Secrets Manager — AWS Secrets Manager is the correct service because it is purpose-built for securely storing, rotating, and managing database credentials and other secrets throughout their lifecycle. It integrates natively with Amazon RDS, Redshift, and DocumentDB to automatically rotate credentials, and it enforces encryption at rest using AWS KMS. For a serverless application, Secrets Manager provides a simple API call (e.g., GetSecretValue) to retrieve credentials without hardcoding them in code or environment variables.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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 →
Keep practising
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 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.