Question 1easymultiple choice
Full question →easymultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A media company uses CloudFront in front of an S3 bucket origin for video thumbnails. They want to prevent users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing the S3 bucket directly, while still allowing CloudFront to fetch objects. What is the best option?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Distractor review
Keep the bucket public and rely on signed cookies for all thumbnail requests.
Making the bucket public increases exposure and signed cookies are not an origin access control mechanism.
B
Best answer
Use CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) or Origin Access Identity (OAI) and update the bucket policy to allow only CloudFront.
OAC/OAI ensures only CloudFront can access the bucket while keeping the bucket private.
C
Distractor review
Enable S3 static website hosting so users access thumbnails directly from the S3 website endpoint.
S3 website endpoints are intended for public access patterns and bypass the security goal.
D
Distractor review
Set S3 bucket permissions to allow all IAM users and block access only by using a WAF rule at CloudFront.
IAM-wide access contradicts least privilege, and WAF does not secure direct S3 access paths.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
- Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
- Underline the problem statement mentally.
- 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.
Related practice questions
Related SAA-C03 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
SAA-C03 VPC practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC.
SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 S3 lifecycle policy questions.
SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 RDS Multi-AZ questions.
SAA-C03 IAM policy practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 IAM policy.
SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 Route 53 failover questions.
SAA-C03 CloudFront practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 CloudFront.
SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 NAT gateway questions.
SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 VPC endpoint questions.
SAA-C03 Auto Scaling practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 Auto Scaling.
SAA-C03 disaster recovery questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 disaster recovery questions.
SAA-C03 high availability questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 high availability questions.
SAA-C03 cost optimization questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to SAA-C03 cost optimization questions.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A team needs to distribute TCP traffic (not HTTP) across multiple services. The services must see the original client source IP for auditing. Which AWS load balancer is the best fit?
Question 2
A team wants to run containerized services with AWS-managed orchestration and autoscaling. They do NOT require Kubernetes compatibility. Which AWS service choice is most appropriate to meet these goals?
Question 3
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a IoT ingestion API. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure? The design must avoid adding custom operational scripts.
Question 4
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a claims portal. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure?
Question 5
A team wants to delegate IAM management to developers, but must ensure developers can never grant themselves permissions beyond a specific limit. Which AWS mechanism best matches this requirement?
Question 6
A solutions architect is designing an S3 bucket for a healthcare document service. The objects must never be publicly accessible, even if a developer later adds an overly broad bucket policy. What should the architect configure?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) or Origin Access Identity (OAI) and update the bucket policy to allow only CloudFront. — To prevent origin bypass, the S3 bucket must remain private and explicitly allow only CloudFront’s identity to read objects. CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) or Origin Access Identity (OAI) provides that controlled access, and the bucket policy grants s3:GetObject permissions only to CloudFront. Users can still request thumbnails through CloudFront normally, and CloudFront retrieves objects from S3 on their behalf. This protects the origin and improves security while maintaining performance via edge caching. Why others are wrong: A makes the bucket public, which directly contradicts the requirement to block direct S3 access. C uses S3 website hosting, which typically implies public access and bypasses the desired control. D relies on broad IAM access and WAF rules; even with WAF, users can still access the S3 bucket directly if it’s not locked down to CloudFront.
What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.