This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. An S3 bucket policy is set as shown. A developer tries to download an object from my-bucket using the AWS CLI from an IP address in the 203.0.113.0/24 range. What will happen?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The download fails with an AccessDenied error.
The correct answer is D because, in an S3 bucket policy, explicit Deny statements override any Allow statements. Even though the Allow statement grants s3:GetObject to all principals, the Deny statement explicitly denies s3:GetObject when the request originates from the 203.0.113.0/24 IP range. Since the developer's IP falls within that range, the Deny takes precedence, resulting in an AccessDenied error.
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 policy is invalid because of conflicting statements.
Why it's wrong here
Policy is syntactically valid.
✗
The download succeeds because the Allow statement matches the request.
Why it's wrong here
Deny overrides allow.
✗
The download succeeds because the Deny statement does not apply to GetObject.
Why it's wrong here
Deny applies to all actions.
✓
The download fails with an AccessDenied error.
Why this is correct
Explicit deny blocks all actions.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume that an Allow statement will always grant access, forgetting that an explicit Deny for the same action from a matching condition (like a source IP) takes precedence and causes the request to fail.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 bucket policies are evaluated using a deny-by-default model where an explicit Deny always overrides any Allow. The policy evaluation logic follows the principle of least privilege: if there is a Deny that matches the request, the request is denied regardless of any Allow statements. This is consistent with AWS IAM policy evaluation, where explicit Deny is an absolute block, and it is critical for scenarios where you need to restrict access from specific IP ranges while allowing access from others.
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: The download fails with an AccessDenied error. — The correct answer is D because, in an S3 bucket policy, explicit Deny statements override any Allow statements. Even though the Allow statement grants s3:GetObject to all principals, the Deny statement explicitly denies s3:GetObject when the request originates from the 203.0.113.0/24 IP range. Since the developer's IP falls within that range, the Deny takes precedence, resulting in an AccessDenied error.
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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