The answer is that the policy’s Principal is incorrectly set to the owning account 111111111111 instead of the consuming account 222222222222. For a cross-account Route 53 Resolver rule association to succeed, the resource-based policy on the resolver rule must explicitly grant the Principal as the AWS account ID that will perform the association—in this case, account 222222222222. Without that, the request from the consuming account lacks the necessary authorization, triggering an access denied error. On the AWS Certified Advanced Networking Specialty ANS-C01 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how resource-based policies differ from identity-based policies in cross-account scenarios, a common trap where engineers mistakenly set the Principal to their own account. Remember: the Principal in a resource-based policy is always the *other* account that needs access, not your own. Memory tip: “Principal points to the partner, not the owner.”
ANS-C01 Network Design Practice Question
This ANS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of network design. 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 network engineer is setting up a cross-account Route 53 Resolver rule association. The engineer creates the above resource-based policy on a resolver rule in account 111111111111. The engineer then tries to associate the rule from account 222222222222 but receives an access denied error. What is the MOST likely reason for the failure?
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.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The policy's Principal is set to account 111111111111 instead of account 222222222222.
The resource-based policy on the Route 53 Resolver rule must specify the consuming account (222222222222) as the Principal to authorize cross-account association. Since the policy incorrectly sets the Principal to the owning account (111111111111), the request from account 222222222222 lacks the required permissions, resulting in an access denied error.
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 policy does not allow the 'route53resolver:AssociateResolverRule' action.
Why it's wrong here
The policy includes that action.
✗
The policy does not include the 'route53resolver:DisassociateResolverRule' action.
Why it's wrong here
Disassociate is not needed for association.
✓
The policy's Principal is set to account 111111111111 instead of account 222222222222.
Why this is correct
The principal should be the account that will use the rule.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The resolver rule is not shared with account 222222222222.
Why it's wrong here
The policy shares the rule with the principal specified.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
AWS often tests the distinction between the resource-based policy's Principal field and the Action field, tricking candidates into thinking a missing action is the cause when the real issue is an incorrect principal account ID.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In AWS RAM and Route 53 Resolver cross-account sharing, the resource-based policy must grant the 'route53resolver:AssociateResolverRule' permission to the principal account ID (222222222222). The policy's Principal element is evaluated against the requester's account; if it does not match, AWS IAM denies the request even if the action is allowed. This is distinct from AWS RAM-based sharing, where the resource is shared via a resource share and the principal is implicit.
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.
Network Design — This question tests Network Design — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The policy's Principal is set to account 111111111111 instead of account 222222222222. — The resource-based policy on the Route 53 Resolver rule must specify the consuming account (222222222222) as the Principal to authorize cross-account association. Since the policy incorrectly sets the Principal to the owning account (111111111111), the request from account 222222222222 lacks the required permissions, resulting in an access denied error.
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.
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?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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