The answer is the central account’s log group must have a resource-based policy that grants the App Account’s IAM role permissions to put logs. This is because cross-account CloudWatch Logs requires a destination policy on the receiving log group, not just an IAM role on the sending side; the IAM role in the App Account allows the EC2 instances to send logs, but the central account’s log group must explicitly trust that role via a resource-based policy to accept the logs. On the AWS Certified Developer Associate DVA-C02 exam, this tests your understanding of the two-way permission model for cross-account logging—a common trap is assuming the sending IAM role alone is sufficient, when the destination policy is the missing link. Remember the mnemonic: “Sender needs IAM, receiver needs policy.”
DVA-C02 Security Practice Question
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 company has a centralized logging solution where all EC2 instances send logs to a CloudWatch Logs group in a central account. The EC2 instances are in a different account (App Account). The developer configures the CloudWatch agent on the instances with the necessary IAM role. However, logs are not appearing in the central account's log group. The IAM role in the App Account has permissions to put logs to the central account's log group. What is the most likely missing configuration?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The central account's log group must have a resource-based policy that grants the App Account's IAM role permissions to put logs.
Option A is correct because cross-account CloudWatch Logs requires a destination policy in the central account that allows the App Account to write logs. Option B is wrong because VPC endpoints are not required. Option C is wrong because the log group does not need to be in the same region, but cross-region might require additional configuration. Option D is wrong because KMS encryption is optional.
Key principle: NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
CloudWatch Logs must be encrypted with the same KMS key in both accounts.
Why it's wrong here
KMS encryption is optional; the logs can be sent without encryption.
✓
The central account's log group must have a resource-based policy that grants the App Account's IAM role permissions to put logs.
Why this is correct
Cross-account logging requires a destination policy on the log group.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
✗
The log group must be in the same region as the EC2 instances.
Why it's wrong here
Cross-region is possible but requires additional configuration; the question does not specify region mismatch.
✗
The EC2 instances must be in a VPC with a VPC endpoint for CloudWatch Logs.
Why it's wrong here
VPC endpoints are optional; instances can reach CloudWatch over the internet.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
→Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
→Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
→Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
Key takeaway
NAT direction and interface roles matter as much as the IP address mapping. Inside/outside designation controls which traffic is translated.
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.
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DVA-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Security — This question tests Security — Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The central account's log group must have a resource-based policy that grants the App Account's IAM role permissions to put logs. — Option A is correct because cross-account CloudWatch Logs requires a destination policy in the central account that allows the App Account to write logs. Option B is wrong because VPC endpoints are not required. Option C is wrong because the log group does not need to be in the same region, but cross-region might require additional configuration. Option D is wrong because KMS encryption is optional.
What should I do if I get this DVA-C02 question wrong?
Review the four NAT address types (inside local, inside global, outside local, outside global), PAT port overload, and static vs dynamic NAT use cases. Then practise related DVA-C02 NAT questions on configuration and troubleshooting.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
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