Quick Answer
The correct answer is cfn-nag and AWS CloudFormation Guard (cfn-guard). Both tools are purpose-built for CloudFormation template security scanning, detecting misconfigurations such as overly permissive IAM policies, unencrypted storage, or exposed secrets before deployment. cfn-nag performs static analysis against a library of known security rules, while cfn-guard enforces custom policy-as-code rules written in a domain-specific language. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your ability to integrate IaC scanning into CI/CD pipelines like CodeBuild, often appearing as a multi-select question where you must distinguish between scanning tools and unrelated services like AWS Config or Security Hub. A common trap is choosing AWS Config, which audits deployed resources but does not scan templates pre-deployment. Memory tip: think “Guard for governance, Nag for known flaws” — cfn-guard enforces your own policies, cfn-nag catches common security issues.
This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of configuration management and iac. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. 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 uses AWS CodeBuild to build and test their application. They want to integrate Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning into their build pipeline to detect security misconfigurations in CloudFormation templates before deployment. Which TWO tools or services can be used for this purpose? (Choose TWO.)
AWS CloudFormation Guard
CloudFormation Guard checks templates against policy rules.
AWS Security Hub
Why wrong: Security Hub aggregates findings from other services.
AWS Config
Why wrong: AWS Config evaluates resources, not templates.
HashiCorp Terraform
Why wrong: Terraform is an IaC tool, but it does not scan CloudFormation templates.
cfn-nag
cfn-nag scans CloudFormation templates for security issues.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS CloudFormation Guard
AWS CloudFormation Guard (cfn-guard) is a policy-as-code tool that allows you to define rules to enforce compliance and security best practices on CloudFormation templates. It can be integrated into a CodeBuild pipeline to scan templates for misconfigurations before deployment, making it a correct choice for IaC security scanning.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS CloudFormation Guard
Why this is correct
CloudFormation Guard checks templates against policy rules.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Security Hub
Why it's wrong here
Security Hub aggregates findings from other services.
AWS Config
Why it's wrong here
AWS Config evaluates resources, not templates.
HashiCorp Terraform
Why it's wrong here
Terraform is an IaC tool, but it does not scan CloudFormation templates.
cfn-nag
Why this is correct
cfn-nag scans CloudFormation templates for security issues.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may confuse AWS Config (which evaluates deployed resources) with a pre-deployment scanning tool, or assume Security Hub can scan templates directly, when in fact both operate on live infrastructure, not on template files.
Detailed technical explanation
cfn-nag is an open-source tool that scans CloudFormation templates for insecure patterns, such as overly permissive IAM policies or unencrypted storage, by parsing the template JSON/YAML and applying a set of rules. AWS CloudFormation Guard uses a domain-specific language (DSL) to define rules and can be run locally or in CI/CD pipelines via the cfn-guard CLI, which evaluates templates against those rules and returns a pass/fail result. Both tools can be invoked in a CodeBuild buildspec.yaml using shell commands or dedicated actions, enabling shift-left security by catching misconfigurations before deployment.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
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FAQ
Configuration Management and IaC — This question tests Configuration Management and IaC — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS CloudFormation Guard — AWS CloudFormation Guard (cfn-guard) is a policy-as-code tool that allows you to define rules to enforce compliance and security best practices on CloudFormation templates. It can be integrated into a CodeBuild pipeline to scan templates for misconfigurations before deployment, making it a correct choice for IaC security scanning.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This DOP-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DOP-C02 exam.
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