Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A public web application is fronted by Amazon CloudFront and an ALB. The team is seeing SQL injection attempts and bursts of malicious HTTP requests that increase origin load. They want to block common web attacks before they reach the ALB. What should they do?
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
Best answer
Associate an AWS WAF web ACL with the CloudFront distribution.
AWS WAF is the correct service for filtering HTTP(S) requests based on patterns such as SQL injection, bad bots, and rate-based abuse. When associated with CloudFront, the filtering happens at the edge before traffic reaches the ALB and origin, reducing load and blocking malicious requests earlier in the path. Shield Standard is already included for basic DDoS protection, but WAF is the component that provides the application-layer controls needed here.
B
Distractor review
Add an inbound security group rule to the ALB for the attacker IP ranges.
Security groups cannot inspect HTTP payloads for SQL injection or block application-layer request patterns effectively.
C
Distractor review
Use a network ACL to inspect and block SQL statements in the request body.
Network ACLs operate at the packet and port level, not at the HTTP content level needed for SQL injection filtering.
D
Distractor review
Enable Amazon KMS encryption on the ALB listener certificates.
TLS encryption protects data in transit, but it does not stop malicious request content or reduce attack traffic volume.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: NAT rules depend on direction and matching traffic
NAT is not only about the public address. The inside/outside interface roles and the ACL or rule that matches traffic are just as important.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
NAT questions usually test address translation, overload/PAT behaviour, static mappings and whether the right traffic is being translated. Read the interface direction and address terms carefully.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
- PAT allows many inside hosts to share one public address using ports.
- Inside local and inside global describe the private and translated addresses.
- NAT ACLs identify traffic for translation, not always security filtering.
TExam Day Tips
- Identify inside and outside interfaces first.
- Check whether the scenario needs static NAT, dynamic NAT or PAT.
- Do not confuse NAT matching ACLs with normal packet-filtering intent.
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More questions from this exam
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
Static NAT maps one inside address to one outside address.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Associate an AWS WAF web ACL with the CloudFront distribution. — AWS WAF is the appropriate control for application-layer request filtering. By attaching the web ACL to CloudFront, the organization blocks suspicious HTTP patterns at the edge before they hit the ALB and origin. This lowers origin load, improves response time, and provides a practical defense against common web exploits such as SQL injection. It is the right fit when the main problem is malicious HTTP content rather than raw network flooding alone. Why others are wrong: Security groups and network ACLs operate below the HTTP layer and cannot inspect SQL injection attempts. KMS is about encryption key management, not traffic filtering or perimeter defense. The key decision is to filter malicious web requests with WAF at the edge, not to rely on network controls that do not understand application payloads.
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.
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