S3 PutObject Denied When SSE Header Missing: IAM Deny Condition
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 developer attached the above IAM policy to an IAM user. The user tries to upload an object to the S3 bucket my-bucket without specifying server-side encryption. 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 upload will be denied because the Deny statement explicitly denies PutObject without AES256 encryption.
The IAM policy includes an explicit Deny statement that denies the s3:PutObject action unless the request includes the x-amz-server-side-encryption header with a value of 'AES256'. Since the user attempts to upload without specifying any server-side encryption, the condition in the Deny statement is met, and the Deny overrides the Allow statement. Therefore, the upload is denied.
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 upload will succeed because the Deny statement is redundant.
Why it's wrong here
The Deny is not redundant; it enforces encryption.
✗
The upload will succeed because the Allow statement grants PutObject permission.
Why it's wrong here
The Allow requires encryption, but the Deny blocks any PutObject without encryption.
✗
The upload will succeed but the object will be stored without encryption.
Why it's wrong here
The Deny prevents the upload entirely.
✓
The upload will be denied because the Deny statement explicitly denies PutObject without AES256 encryption.
Why this is correct
Explicit Deny always overrides Allow.
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 assume an Allow statement alone guarantees success, forgetting that an explicit Deny with a condition that matches the request will always override the Allow, even if the condition seems to only apply to specific cases.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM policy evaluation logic follows an explicit Deny override: any matching Deny statement, even if conditional, will block the action regardless of any Allow statements. The condition in the Deny uses the s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption condition key, which checks the request header; if the header is absent or not 'AES256', the Deny applies. In practice, this pattern enforces encryption at upload time, ensuring objects are never stored without server-side encryption.
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.
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: The upload will be denied because the Deny statement explicitly denies PutObject without AES256 encryption. — The IAM policy includes an explicit Deny statement that denies the s3:PutObject action unless the request includes the x-amz-server-side-encryption header with a value of 'AES256'. Since the user attempts to upload without specifying any server-side encryption, the condition in the Deny statement is met, and the Deny overrides the Allow statement. Therefore, the upload is denied.
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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