← DVA-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 333 of 1,616

Development with AWS Services →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Least Privilege IAM Policy for ECS Task Role — Write to S3 | AWS Developer Associate Explained

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 runs a containerized web application on Amazon ECS using Fargate. The application needs to store files in Amazon S3. The developer wants to follow the principle of least privilege for the ECS task IAM role. Which IAM policy should be attached to the task role?

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.

A
{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:*","Resource":"*"}]}
Why wrong: Wildcard resource and all actions, far too permissive.
B
{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:*","Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"}]}
Why wrong: s3:* includes all actions, violating least privilege.
C
{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:PutObject","Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"}]}
Only PutObject is needed to upload files; minimal permissions.
D
{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":["s3:GetObject","s3:PutObject"],"Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"}]}
Why wrong: Includes GetObject which is not needed, still grants read access.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:PutObject","Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"}]}

Option C is correct because it grants only the s3:PutObject action on the specific S3 bucket, which is the minimum permission required for the application to store files. This adheres to the principle of least privilege by not including unnecessary read or list actions. The task role should be scoped to the exact resource and action needed.

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.

✗
{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:*","Resource":"*"}]}
Why it's wrong here
Wildcard resource and all actions, far too permissive.
✗
{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:*","Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"}]}
Why it's wrong here
s3:* includes all actions, violating least privilege.
✓
{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:PutObject","Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"}]}
Why this is correct
Only PutObject is needed to upload files; minimal permissions.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "least" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":["s3:GetObject","s3:PutObject"],"Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"}]}
Why it's wrong here
Includes GetObject which is not needed, still grants read access.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often choose Option D thinking both read and write are needed for storing files, but the question explicitly states 'store files' which implies write-only, making the read permission unnecessary and a violation of least privilege.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Amazon ECS tasks using Fargate assume an IAM role to obtain temporary credentials via the ECS task metadata endpoint. The s3:PutObject action is sufficient for uploading objects, but note that if the application needs to check for object existence or list objects before writing, additional actions like s3:ListBucket or s3:GetObject would be required. In a real-world scenario, a developer might also need to handle multipart uploads, which require s3:AbortMultipartUpload and s3:ListMultipartUploadParts, but the question specifies only storing files.

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.

Related DVA-C02 practice-question pages

Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.

Development with AWS Services practice questions

Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Development with AWS Services.

Security practice questions

Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Security.

Deployment practice questions

Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Deployment.

Troubleshooting and Optimization practice questions

Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to Troubleshooting and Optimization.

DVA-C02 fundamentals practice questions

Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 fundamentals.

DVA-C02 scenario practice questions

Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 scenario.

DVA-C02 troubleshooting practice questions

Practise DVA-C02 questions linked to DVA-C02 troubleshooting.

Practice this exam

Start a free DVA-C02 practice session

Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.

10 questions 20 questions 30 questions 50 questions Timed 30

DVA-C02 practice-test guide →Study guide →Browse all practice tests

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: {"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Effect":"Allow","Action":"s3:PutObject","Resource":"arn:aws:s3:::example-bucket/*"}]} — Option C is correct because it grants only the s3:PutObject action on the specific S3 bucket, which is the minimum permission required for the application to store files. This adheres to the principle of least privilege by not including unnecessary read or list actions. The task role should be scoped to the exact resource and action needed.

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.

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 →

How Courseiva writes practice questions · Editorial policy

Keep practising

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.

Loading comments…

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.