This DVA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of deployment. 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 is using AWS Elastic Beanstalk to deploy a Node.js application. The application requires an environment variable that contains a secret (e.g., a database password). The developer wants to store the secret securely and make it available to the application instances. Which Elastic Beanstalk feature should be used?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use the AWS Secrets Manager integration in Elastic Beanstalk.
AWS Elastic Beanstalk has a native integration with AWS Secrets Manager that allows you to retrieve secrets and inject them as environment variables into your application instances without exposing the secret in plaintext. This integration handles the secure retrieval and rotation of secrets automatically, making it the correct choice for securely storing and accessing a database password.
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.
✗
Store the secret in an environment property with the value set in plaintext.
Why it's wrong here
Plaintext environment properties are insecure and leak credentials.
✓
Use the AWS Secrets Manager integration in Elastic Beanstalk.
Why this is correct
This securely retrieves the secret from Secrets Manager and injects it as an environment variable.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Use an .ebextensions configuration file to set the environment variable.
Why it's wrong here
.ebextensions can set variables but the value would still be in plaintext in the source code.
✗
Use Elastic Beanstalk platform hooks to retrieve the secret at startup.
Why it's wrong here
Platform hooks run scripts but are not the recommended method for secret injection.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think platform hooks (Option D) are the correct approach because they can run scripts at startup, but they overlook the fact that Elastic Beanstalk's native Secrets Manager integration provides a simpler, more secure, and fully managed solution without requiring custom code to handle API calls and permissions.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Elastic Beanstalk Secrets Manager integration works by creating an IAM role for the environment's EC2 instances that grants permission to retrieve the specified secret. During environment startup, Elastic Beanstalk automatically calls the AWS Secrets Manager GetSecretValue API and injects the secret value as an environment variable, ensuring the secret is never stored in plaintext in the environment configuration or application code. This integration also supports automatic rotation of secrets, so if the secret is rotated in Secrets Manager, the environment can be updated to use the new value without manual intervention.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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: Use the AWS Secrets Manager integration in Elastic Beanstalk. — AWS Elastic Beanstalk has a native integration with AWS Secrets Manager that allows you to retrieve secrets and inject them as environment variables into your application instances without exposing the secret in plaintext. This integration handles the secure retrieval and rotation of secrets automatically, making it the correct choice for securely storing and accessing a database password.
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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