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.
An application in ECS Fargate needs to read a secret and decrypt it with KMS. Which two permissions/configurations are needed?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Task role permissions for Secrets Manager access
Option B is correct because the ECS task role is an IAM role that the Fargate task assumes to make AWS API calls. To read a secret from AWS Secrets Manager, the task role must have an IAM policy granting `secretsmanager:GetSecretValue` permission. Option D is correct because the secret is encrypted with a KMS key, so the task role also needs a KMS key policy or IAM permission that allows `kms:Decrypt` on that specific key.
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.
✗
Store the secret in the container image
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
✓
Task role permissions for Secrets Manager access
Why this is correct
Correct for the stated requirement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
An EC2 instance profile attached to the Fargate host
Why it's wrong here
This does not meet the stated requirement as directly as the correct option.
✓
KMS key policy/IAM permission allowing decrypt for the task role
Why this is correct
Correct for the stated requirement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse EC2 instance profiles with ECS task roles, forgetting that Fargate is serverless and has no underlying EC2 host to attach an instance profile to.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, the ECS task role is passed to the Fargate agent via the `--task-role-arn` parameter in the task definition, and the AWS SDK in the container automatically retrieves temporary credentials from the task metadata endpoint (169.254.170.2). The KMS `Decrypt` permission is required because Secrets Manager uses a customer-managed KMS key (or the default `aws/secretsmanager` key) to encrypt the secret value at rest; without `kms:Decrypt`, the `GetSecretValue` call fails with an access denied error even if Secrets Manager permissions are present.
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: Task role permissions for Secrets Manager access — Option B is correct because the ECS task role is an IAM role that the Fargate task assumes to make AWS API calls. To read a secret from AWS Secrets Manager, the task role must have an IAM policy granting `secretsmanager:GetSecretValue` permission. Option D is correct because the secret is encrypted with a KMS key, so the task role also needs a KMS key policy or IAM permission that allows `kms:Decrypt` on that specific key.
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.
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 →
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.
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.