This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 wants to securely store database credentials used by a Lambda function. The credentials should be automatically rotated every 90 days. Which service should be used?
AWS Secrets Manager
Secrets Manager is designed for storing secrets with automatic rotation.
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why wrong: KMS manages encryption keys, not secrets.
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Why wrong: IAM manages users, roles, and policies, not secrets.
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why wrong: Parameter Store can store secrets but does not have built-in 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 choice because it is purpose-built for securely storing, retrieving, and automatically rotating database credentials and other secrets. It supports native rotation with built-in integration for Amazon RDS (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MariaDB) and Amazon DocumentDB, allowing you to configure automatic rotation every 90 days without custom code. The service encrypts secrets at rest using AWS KMS and enforces fine-grained access control via IAM policies.
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 Secrets Manager
Why this is correct
Secrets Manager is designed for storing secrets with automatic rotation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why it's wrong here
KMS manages encryption keys, not secrets.
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Why it's wrong here
IAM manages users, roles, and policies, not secrets.
AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why it's wrong here
Parameter Store can store secrets but does not have built-in rotation.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store with Secrets Manager because both can store secrets, but Parameter Store lacks native automatic rotation, which is explicitly required by the 90-day rotation requirement in the question.
Detailed technical explanation
Secrets Manager uses a rotation strategy that creates a new version of the secret and updates the database password via a Lambda function (e.g., the provided RDS rotation template). The rotation schedule is defined using a cron expression or a simple rate (e.g., every 90 days), and the service automatically invokes the rotation function. Under the hood, Secrets Manager maintains a staging label system (AWSCURRENT, AWSPREVIOUS, AWSPENDING) to ensure zero-downtime rotation by allowing applications to use the current secret while the new one is being staged.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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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 choice because it is purpose-built for securely storing, retrieving, and automatically rotating database credentials and other secrets. It supports native rotation with built-in integration for Amazon RDS (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MariaDB) and Amazon DocumentDB, allowing you to configure automatic rotation every 90 days without custom code. The service encrypts secrets at rest using AWS KMS and enforces fine-grained access control via IAM policies.
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.
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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.
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