- A
Use Amazon EFS to store access keys.
Why wrong: EFS does not provide IAM permissions.
- B
Assign an IAM instance profile to the Fargate tasks.
Why wrong: Fargate uses task roles, not instance profiles.
- C
Create an IAM task role with S3 permissions and associate it with the ECS task definition.
Task roles provide least privilege for Fargate tasks.
- D
Store AWS credentials in the container image.
Why wrong: Credentials in images are insecure and not recommended.
Question 1,076 of 1,616
ECS Fargate: IAM Task Role for S3 Access
This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of development with aws services. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 is running a containerized application on Amazon ECS with Fargate launch type. The application needs to access an Amazon S3 bucket. The company wants to follow the principle of least privilege. How should the developer provide the necessary permissions?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"least"Why it matters: You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create an IAM task role with S3 permissions and associate it with the ECS task definition.
Option C is correct because Amazon ECS with Fargate launch type uses IAM task roles to grant permissions to containers at the task level. The task role is an IAM role that the ECS task assumes, allowing the application to securely access S3 without hardcoding credentials. This follows the principle of least privilege by scoping permissions to the specific task and using temporary credentials via the AWS STS service.
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 Amazon EFS to store access keys.
Why it's wrong here
EFS does not provide IAM permissions.
- ✗
Assign an IAM instance profile to the Fargate tasks.
Why it's wrong here
Fargate uses task roles, not instance profiles.
- ✓
Create an IAM task role with S3 permissions and associate it with the ECS task definition.
Why this is correct
Task roles provide least privilege for Fargate tasks.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Store AWS credentials in the container image.
Why it's wrong here
Credentials in images are insecure and not recommended.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse instance profiles (used with EC2 launch type) with task roles (used with Fargate), leading them to select Option B, but Fargate tasks cannot assume an instance profile because there is no underlying EC2 instance.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When an ECS task with Fargate launch type is configured with a task role, the ECS agent retrieves temporary AWS credentials from STS using the task role's trust policy and injects them into the container via environment variables (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_SESSION_TOKEN). These credentials are automatically rotated and valid only for the task's lifetime, ensuring fine-grained access control. In a real-world scenario, if the application needs to write to a specific S3 prefix, the task role's policy can be scoped to that prefix, preventing accidental or malicious access to other buckets.
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.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this DVA-C02 question test?
Development with AWS Services — This question tests Development with AWS Services — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create an IAM task role with S3 permissions and associate it with the ECS task definition. — Option C is correct because Amazon ECS with Fargate launch type uses IAM task roles to grant permissions to containers at the task level. The task role is an IAM role that the ECS task assumes, allowing the application to securely access S3 without hardcoding credentials. This follows the principle of least privilege by scoping permissions to the specific task and using temporary credentials via the AWS STS service.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "least". You want the option with minimum overhead, fewest steps, or lowest impact — not the most feature-rich or comprehensive answer.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 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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