← DOP-C02·Amazon Web Services

Question 407 of 1,740

Incident and Event Response →hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is to create a new launch template version that retrieves the password from AWS Secrets Manager, then update the Auto Scaling group to use it and perform an instance refresh with a minimum healthy percentage of 100%. This is correct because it directly addresses the security vulnerability of a static password exposed in user data by migrating credential retrieval to a secure, auditable service, while the instance refresh with a 100% minimum healthy percentage ensures zero downtime by launching new instances before terminating old ones—critical for an application under load. On the AWS Certified DevOps Engineer Professional DOP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of remediating exposed password in user data using Secrets Manager combined with safe deployment strategies; a common trap is choosing a simple rolling update that could drop below capacity. Remember the mnemonic “Secrets + Refresh = Secure and Steady” to recall that Secrets Manager handles the credential, and a full-health instance refresh prevents disruption.

DOP-C02 Incident and Event Response Practice Question

This DOP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of incident and event response. 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 runs a multi-tier web application on AWS. The application consists of an Application Load Balancer (ALB), an EC2 Auto Scaling group (ASG) for web servers, and an Amazon RDS Multi-AZ DB instance. The ASG uses a launch template with Amazon Linux 2 and a user data script that installs the web application and connects to the RDS database using a static password stored in the user data. Recently, the security team discovered that the user data script is exposed in the EC2 console and could be viewed by anyone with EC2 describe-instances permissions. The team wants to remediate this immediately without causing downtime. The ASG is configured with a min size of 2, max size of 6, and desired capacity of 4. The application is currently under load. Which option describes the best course of action?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Clue: "immediately / without restart"
Why it matters: Time or reboot constraint — the correct answer must take effect right away without requiring a reboot or reload.

Question 1hardmultiple choice

Full question →

A
Create a new launch template version that retrieves the password from AWS Secrets Manager. Update the ASG to use the new template version and perform an instance refresh with a minimum healthy percentage of 100%.
D is correct because it removes the password from the template, uses Secrets Manager for security, and performs a rolling update without downtime.
B
Immediately modify the user data on each running EC2 instance to remove the password, then update the launch template to reference AWS Secrets Manager.
Why wrong: A is wrong because manually modifying running instances is not scalable and does not address the launch template exposure.
C
Update the existing launch template to use AWS Secrets Manager for the database password. The ASG will automatically apply the change to existing instances.
Why wrong: C is wrong because updating the launch template does not affect running instances; the ASG uses the template only for new instances.
D
Delete the existing launch template and create a new one with secrets from AWS Secrets Manager. Then terminate all running instances and let the ASG launch new ones.
Why wrong: B is wrong because terminating all instances causes downtime.

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

✓

Create a new launch template version that retrieves the password from AWS Secrets Manager. Update the ASG to use the new template version and perform an instance refresh with a minimum healthy percentage of 100%.

Option A is correct because it uses an instance refresh with a minimum healthy percentage of 100% to replace instances without downtime, while the new launch template version retrieves the password from AWS Secrets Manager, eliminating the static password exposure. This approach ensures that the security vulnerability is remediated immediately without disrupting the running application under load.

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.

✓
Create a new launch template version that retrieves the password from AWS Secrets Manager. Update the ASG to use the new template version and perform an instance refresh with a minimum healthy percentage of 100%.
Why this is correct
D is correct because it removes the password from the template, uses Secrets Manager for security, and performs a rolling update without downtime.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "best", "immediately / without restart" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Immediately modify the user data on each running EC2 instance to remove the password, then update the launch template to reference AWS Secrets Manager.
Why it's wrong here
A is wrong because manually modifying running instances is not scalable and does not address the launch template exposure.
✗
Update the existing launch template to use AWS Secrets Manager for the database password. The ASG will automatically apply the change to existing instances.
Why it's wrong here
C is wrong because updating the launch template does not affect running instances; the ASG uses the template only for new instances.
✗
Delete the existing launch template and create a new one with secrets from AWS Secrets Manager. Then terminate all running instances and let the ASG launch new ones.
Why it's wrong here
B is wrong because terminating all instances causes downtime.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates assume updating the launch template automatically propagates to existing instances, but in reality, the ASG only applies the launch template to new instances, so an instance refresh or manual replacement is required to remediate existing instances.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

An instance refresh with a minimum healthy percentage of 100% ensures that the ASG terminates and replaces instances one at a time (or in small batches), maintaining the desired capacity and avoiding any degradation in service. AWS Secrets Manager integrates with user data via the AWS CLI or SDK to retrieve secrets at instance boot time, using IAM roles attached to the EC2 instance profile to securely access the secret without hardcoding credentials.

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.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this DOP-C02 question test?

Incident and Event Response — This question tests Incident and Event Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: Create a new launch template version that retrieves the password from AWS Secrets Manager. Update the ASG to use the new template version and perform an instance refresh with a minimum healthy percentage of 100%. — Option A is correct because it uses an instance refresh with a minimum healthy percentage of 100% to replace instances without downtime, while the new launch template version retrieves the password from AWS Secrets Manager, eliminating the static password exposure. This approach ensures that the security vulnerability is remediated immediately without disrupting the running application under load.

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

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "best", "immediately / without restart". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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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.