This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of deployment. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. An IAM policy is attached to a user who needs to deploy a serverless application. The user reports that they cannot upload a new version of a Lambda function using the AWS CLI. What is the MOST likely reason?
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 policy does not include lambda:UpdateFunctionCode.
The error occurs because the IAM policy attached to the user does not include the `lambda:UpdateFunctionCode` permission, which is required to upload a new version of a Lambda function via the AWS CLI. Without this action, the `update-function-code` command fails, even if other Lambda permissions like `lambda:InvokeFunction` are present. The policy must explicitly allow `lambda:UpdateFunctionCode` to enable code updates.
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 Lambda invoke permission is scoped to a specific function.
Why it's wrong here
Resource is "*" so all functions.
✓
The policy does not include lambda:UpdateFunctionCode.
Why this is correct
UpdateFunctionCode action is missing.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The user does not have permission to write to the S3 bucket.
Why it's wrong here
The policy includes s3:PutObject.
✗
The user is not in the same AWS region as the Lambda function.
Why it's wrong here
Region is not a factor in IAM.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume the error is due to S3 permissions (Option C) because they think Lambda code must be uploaded from S3, but the CLI can upload directly from a local file, and the real missing permission is `lambda:UpdateFunctionCode`.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The `lambda:UpdateFunctionCode` action is a separate IAM permission from `lambda:UpdateFunctionConfiguration`; the former allows uploading new deployment packages, while the latter allows modifying runtime, environment variables, or timeout settings. In practice, developers often mistakenly grant `lambda:UpdateFunctionConfiguration` but omit `lambda:UpdateFunctionCode`, leading to this exact failure when running `aws lambda update-function-code`. The CLI command requires the `--function-name` and either `--zip-file` (fileb://) or `--s3-key` parameters, but the IAM check happens before any S3 access is evaluated.
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.
Deployment — This question tests Deployment — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The policy does not include lambda:UpdateFunctionCode. — The error occurs because the IAM policy attached to the user does not include the `lambda:UpdateFunctionCode` permission, which is required to upload a new version of a Lambda function via the AWS CLI. Without this action, the `update-function-code` command fails, even if other Lambda permissions like `lambda:InvokeFunction` are present. The policy must explicitly allow `lambda:UpdateFunctionCode` to enable code updates.
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: "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?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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