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Question 263 of 1,740

Security and Compliance →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

DOP-C02 Security and Compliance Practice Question

This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. 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.

A company has a multi-account AWS environment using AWS Organizations. The security team has implemented a service control policy (SCP) that denies the creation of IAM users and roles with full admin access. The SCP is attached to all accounts. However, a DevOps engineer in a member account reports that they are able to create an IAM role with an administrator access policy attached. The engineer uses the AWS Management Console to create the role. The SCP is confirmed to be in place. What is the most likely reason the SCP is not preventing the role creation?

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.

Question 1hardmultiple choice

Full question →

A
SCPs are not inherited by member accounts from the root.
Why wrong: SCPs are inherited by all accounts under the OU unless explicitly blocked. They do apply to member accounts.
B
The SCP is not attached to the member account's root organizational unit.
Why wrong: Even if not attached to the root OU, if it's attached to the account directly or to an OU that contains the account, it would apply. The question states it's attached to all accounts.
C
The engineer's IAM policy allows iam:CreateRole and overrides the SCP.
Why wrong: SCPs are evaluated before IAM policies and cannot be overridden by IAM permissions. If the SCP denies an action, it cannot be allowed by an IAM policy.
D
The SCP only denies iam:CreateUser, but the engineer is creating a role (iam:CreateRole).
If the SCP statement only specifies iam:CreateUser, it would not prevent creating IAM roles. The engineer could create a role with admin privileges.

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

✓

The SCP only denies iam:CreateUser, but the engineer is creating a role (iam:CreateRole).

SCPs do not affect the management account. If the member account is the management account or if the SCP was not applied correctly, it might not work. However, the most common reason is that SCPs only deny actions if the SCP explicitly denies them. If the SCP denies the creation of IAM roles with full admin access, but the engineer is creating the role in the AWS Management Console, the SCP should block it. However, SCPs are evaluated before IAM policies, so if the SCP denies the action, it should be blocked. The likely issue is that the SCP is not applied to the specific account or the SCP statement is incorrect. But among the options, the most plausible is that the SCP does not apply to the management account, and the engineer might be using the management account. However, the question says member account. Another possibility is that the SCP does not deny the iam:CreateRole action with the administrator policy; it might deny only the iam:AttachRolePolicy action. Option A suggests the SCP only denies iam:CreateUser, not iam:CreateRole. Option B suggests the SCP is not attached to the account. Option C suggests the SCP is applied to the root but not inherited. Option D suggests the engineer has an IAM policy that overrides the SCP, which is false because SCPs cannot be overridden by IAM policies. The correct answer is A: the SCP only denies iam:CreateUser, not iam:CreateRole.

Key principle: ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
SCPs are not inherited by member accounts from the root.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs are inherited by all accounts under the OU unless explicitly blocked. They do apply to member accounts.
✗
The SCP is not attached to the member account's root organizational unit.
Why it's wrong here
Even if not attached to the root OU, if it's attached to the account directly or to an OU that contains the account, it would apply. The question states it's attached to all accounts.
✗
The engineer's IAM policy allows iam:CreateRole and overrides the SCP.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs are evaluated before IAM policies and cannot be overridden by IAM permissions. If the SCP denies an action, it cannot be allowed by an IAM policy.
✓
The SCP only denies iam:CreateUser, but the engineer is creating a role (iam:CreateRole).
Why this is correct
If the SCP statement only specifies iam:CreateUser, it would not prevent creating IAM roles. The engineer could create a role with admin privileges.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Standard ACLs match source addresses.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: ACLs stop at the first match

ACLs are processed top to bottom. The first matching entry wins, and an implicit deny usually exists at the end.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

ACL questions test precision: source, destination, protocol, port and direction. A generally correct ACL can still fail if it is applied on the wrong interface or in the wrong direction.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Standard ACLs match source addresses.
Extended ACLs can match source, destination, protocol and ports.
The first matching ACL entry is used.
There is usually an implicit deny at the end.

TExam Day Tips

Check inbound versus outbound direction.
Read the ACL from top to bottom.
Look for a broader permit or deny above the intended line.

Key takeaway

ACLs process entries top to bottom and stop at the first match. Entry order and interface direction matter as much as the permit or deny statement.

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.

Review ACL processing order, placement rules (standard near destination, extended near source), and inbound vs outbound direction. Study wildcard masks and implicit deny. Then practise related DOP-C02 ACL questions on filtering logic and placement.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this DOP-C02 question test?

Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Standard ACLs match source addresses..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: The SCP only denies iam:CreateUser, but the engineer is creating a role (iam:CreateRole). — SCPs do not affect the management account. If the member account is the management account or if the SCP was not applied correctly, it might not work. However, the most common reason is that SCPs only deny actions if the SCP explicitly denies them. If the SCP denies the creation of IAM roles with full admin access, but the engineer is creating the role in the AWS Management Console, the SCP should block it. However, SCPs are evaluated before IAM policies, so if the SCP denies the action, it should be blocked. The likely issue is that the SCP is not applied to the specific account or the SCP statement is incorrect. But among the options, the most plausible is that the SCP does not apply to the management account, and the engineer might be using the management account. However, the question says member account. Another possibility is that the SCP does not deny the iam:CreateRole action with the administrator policy; it might deny only the iam:AttachRolePolicy action. Option A suggests the SCP only denies iam:CreateUser, not iam:CreateRole. Option B suggests the SCP is not attached to the account. Option C suggests the SCP is applied to the root but not inherited. Option D suggests the engineer has an IAM policy that overrides the SCP, which is false because SCPs cannot be overridden by IAM policies. The correct answer is A: the SCP only denies iam:CreateUser, not iam:CreateRole.

What should I do if I get this DOP-C02 question wrong?

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?

Standard ACLs match source addresses.

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