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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "s3:GetObject",
"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"
}
]
}
An IAM user has the above IAM policy attached. What is the effect?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The user can read objects from example-bucket.
The IAM policy grants `s3:GetObject` permission on `arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*`, which allows reading objects from the bucket. Since there is no explicit deny and the policy only allows this single action, the user can read objects but cannot perform other actions like listing or deleting. Option D is correct because the policy explicitly permits read access to objects.
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.
✗
The user is denied access to example-bucket.
Why it's wrong here
The effect is Allow.
✗
The user can list the objects in example-bucket.
Why it's wrong here
ListBucket is not allowed.
✗
The user can perform all S3 actions on example-bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Only GetObject is allowed.
✓
The user can read objects from example-bucket.
Why this is correct
The policy allows s3:GetObject on all objects.
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 assume granting `s3:GetObject` on objects implicitly allows listing the bucket, but listing requires a separate `s3:ListBucket` permission on the bucket resource.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM policies evaluate permissions with an explicit deny override; if no deny exists, only allowed actions are permitted. The resource ARN `arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*` matches objects but not the bucket itself, so bucket-level actions like `s3:ListBucket` require a separate statement with the bucket ARN (`arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket`). In real-world scenarios, this is a common misconfiguration where users grant object access but forget bucket-level permissions, leading to 'Access Denied' errors when listing.
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.
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: The user can read objects from example-bucket. — The IAM policy grants `s3:GetObject` permission on `arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*`, which allows reading objects from the bucket. Since there is no explicit deny and the policy only allows this single action, the user can read objects but cannot perform other actions like listing or deleting. Option D is correct because the policy explicitly permits read access to objects.
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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Question Discussion
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