The correct approach is to use IAM policies to control who can call CreateStack and add S3 bucket policies to restrict template access. This dual-layer security is essential because IAM policies alone only govern the API call itself, but an authorized user could still bypass them by directly accessing the template URL or using a different AWS account to retrieve the file from S3. By combining IAM permissions with S3 bucket policies, you ensure that even if a user has the right to create a stack, they cannot read the template object unless explicitly granted access by the bucket policy. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of defense-in-depth for CloudFormation deployments, often appearing as a trap where candidates choose only IAM or only S3 policies. A common memory tip is “two locks for one stack”: IAM locks the action, S3 locks the asset.
DVA-C02 Security Practice Question
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 company uses AWS CloudFormation to deploy resources. The templates are stored in an S3 bucket. A developer wants to ensure that only authorized users can create stacks from these templates. What should be implemented?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use IAM policies to control who can call CreateStack and add S3 bucket policies to restrict template access.
Option A is correct because it combines two layers of access control: IAM policies restrict the ability to call the CreateStack API action, and S3 bucket policies restrict access to the template objects stored in S3. This ensures that even if a user has IAM permissions to create stacks, they cannot retrieve or use the template unless the S3 bucket policy also grants them access. Without both controls, an unauthorized user could bypass IAM by directly accessing the template URL or using a different AWS account.
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.
✓
Use IAM policies to control who can call CreateStack and add S3 bucket policies to restrict template access.
Why this is correct
Combines IAM and S3 policies for defense in depth.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use a stack policy to restrict updates.
Why it's wrong here
Stack policies protect resources, not template access.
✗
Enable CloudTrail to log template access.
Why it's wrong here
Logging doesn't prevent unauthorized access.
✗
Set the S3 bucket to private and rely on bucket policies.
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policies alone don't control CloudFormation actions.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume S3 bucket policies alone are sufficient for access control, forgetting that IAM policies are required to authorize the CreateStack API call itself.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, CloudFormation's CreateStack action requires the caller to have the cloudformation:CreateStack permission, and if the template URL points to S3, the service uses the caller's credentials to fetch the object. This means S3 bucket policies must grant s3:GetObject access to the same IAM user or role. A common real-world scenario is using a centralized S3 bucket with cross-account access, where bucket policies explicitly allow specific IAM roles from other accounts to read templates, while IAM policies in those accounts allow CreateStack.
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: Use IAM policies to control who can call CreateStack and add S3 bucket policies to restrict template access. — Option A is correct because it combines two layers of access control: IAM policies restrict the ability to call the CreateStack API action, and S3 bucket policies restrict access to the template objects stored in S3. This ensures that even if a user has IAM permissions to create stacks, they cannot retrieve or use the template unless the S3 bucket policy also grants them access. Without both controls, an unauthorized user could bypass IAM by directly accessing the template URL or using a different AWS account.
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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