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 stores database credentials in Secrets Manager. The application sometimes receives AccessDeniedException from Lambda after secret rotation. What should be checked first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Whether the Lambda execution role and KMS key policy allow access to the new secret version and key
The AccessDeniedException from Lambda after secret rotation indicates that the Lambda function cannot access the new secret version. This is most commonly caused by the Lambda execution role lacking the necessary permissions (e.g., secretsmanager:GetSecretValue) for the new secret version ARN, or the KMS key policy not granting the Lambda role access to decrypt the secret using the customer-managed KMS key. Checking these two policies first is the correct troubleshooting step because rotation creates a new version with a different ARN, and the IAM policy must allow access to all versions or use a wildcard.
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.
✗
Whether API Gateway caching is enabled
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
✓
Whether the Lambda execution role and KMS key policy allow access to the new secret version and key
Why this is correct
Correct for the stated requirement.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Whether the VPC has exactly three subnets
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
✗
Whether CloudFront invalidation completed
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may overlook the KMS key policy and focus only on the Lambda execution role, but the AccessDeniedException can also stem from the KMS key not authorizing the Lambda role to decrypt the secret, especially when using a customer-managed key.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When Secrets Manager rotates a secret, it creates a new version with a unique version ID (e.g., AWSCURRENT). The Lambda execution role must have an IAM policy that grants secretsmanager:GetSecretValue on the secret ARN with a version stage of AWSCURRENT, or use a resource-based policy. Additionally, if the secret is encrypted with a customer-managed KMS key, the KMS key policy must include a statement allowing the Lambda execution role to perform kms:Decrypt. A common subtlety is that the IAM policy may have been written for a specific version ID (e.g., arn:aws:secretsmanager:region:account:secret:name-xxxxx-xxxxx) without a wildcard, causing it to fail after rotation creates a new version ID.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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: Whether the Lambda execution role and KMS key policy allow access to the new secret version and key — The AccessDeniedException from Lambda after secret rotation indicates that the Lambda function cannot access the new secret version. This is most commonly caused by the Lambda execution role lacking the necessary permissions (e.g., secretsmanager:GetSecretValue) for the new secret version ARN, or the KMS key policy not granting the Lambda role access to decrypt the secret using the customer-managed KMS key. Checking these two policies first is the correct troubleshooting step because rotation creates a new version with a different ARN, and the IAM policy must allow access to all versions or use a wildcard.
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: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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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