This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network implementation. 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 network engineer is assigned an IAM policy to manage VPC resources. The engineer attempts to create a VPC with CIDR 10.0.0.0/16 and fails. What is the reason?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The Deny statement overrides the Allow statement for the specific CIDR.
The IAM policy includes an explicit Deny statement that denies the CreateVpc action when the CIDR block equals 10.0.0.0/16. Since explicit Deny statements override any Allow statements, the engineer's attempt to create a VPC with that specific CIDR fails regardless of any Allow permissions. This is a fundamental IAM evaluation logic rule: an explicit Deny always takes precedence over an Allow.
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 resource ARN in the Deny statement does not match the VPC being created.
Why it's wrong here
The ARN uses a wildcard for VPC ID, so it matches.
✓
The Deny statement overrides the Allow statement for the specific CIDR.
Why this is correct
Explicit deny overrides allow.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The condition in the Deny statement is not evaluated correctly.
Why it's wrong here
Condition is evaluated correctly.
✗
The first statement allows only specific actions, not CreateVpc.
Why it's wrong here
CreateVpc is included in the first statement.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The ANS-C01 exam often tests the misconception that an Allow statement always grants permission, but the trap here is that an explicit Deny statement with a matching condition overrides any Allow, causing the operation to fail even if the user has broad permissions.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
IAM policy evaluation follows a strict order: default implicit deny, then explicit Allow, then explicit Deny — with explicit Deny being absolute. The condition key 'aws:RequestTag/CIDR' or 'ec2:CidrBlock' is used to match the requested CIDR block; in this case, the Deny statement uses a StringEquals condition on the CIDR value 10.0.0.0/16. This is a common pattern to restrict specific CIDR ranges (e.g., preventing overlapping with on-premises networks) while allowing other ranges.
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.
Visual reference
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.
Network Implementation — This question tests Network Implementation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The Deny statement overrides the Allow statement for the specific CIDR. — The IAM policy includes an explicit Deny statement that denies the CreateVpc action when the CIDR block equals 10.0.0.0/16. Since explicit Deny statements override any Allow statements, the engineer's attempt to create a VPC with that specific CIDR fails regardless of any Allow permissions. This is a fundamental IAM evaluation logic rule: an explicit Deny always takes precedence over an Allow.
What should I do if I get this ANS-C01 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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