Question 1mediummultiple choice
Full question →mediummultiple choiceObjective-mapped
Account A has an IAM role named FinanceDataRole that is assumed by a principal in Account B. The role’s trust policy includes a condition requiring sts:ExternalId to equal "Fin-2026-Q2". A developer in Account B calls AssumeRole but receives an error: AccessDenied: ExternalId mismatch. The security team requires that you do not remove the ExternalId condition. What is the correct remediation?
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
Add kms:Decrypt to the developer’s IAM policy so KMS can validate the ExternalId during AssumeRole.
sts:ExternalId is validated by the STS AssumeRole trust policy evaluation. KMS permissions are unrelated to ExternalId condition checks and cannot fix an STS trust policy mismatch.
B
Best answer
Update the AssumeRole call in Account B to include sts:ExternalId="Fin-2026-Q2" exactly as required.
The trust policy explicitly checks the ExternalId value provided in the AssumeRole request. Supplying the exact required ExternalId satisfies the condition and allows STS to issue credentials for the role.
C
Distractor review
Increase the role’s MaxSessionDuration to reduce authentication failures.
MaxSessionDuration impacts the lifetime of the issued session credentials, not whether the trust policy condition on sts:ExternalId is satisfied. The ExternalId mismatch would still cause AccessDenied.
D
Distractor review
Remove the ExternalId condition from the trust policy to allow all AssumeRole requests.
Removing or weakening the ExternalId condition violates the stated security requirement and reduces protection against confused-deputy attacks.
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: Update the AssumeRole call in Account B to include sts:ExternalId="Fin-2026-Q2" exactly as required. — STS evaluates the provided AssumeRole request against the role’s trust policy. Because the trust policy includes a condition that requires sts:ExternalId to equal a specific string, STS rejects requests that omit it or provide a different value. The required secure remediation is to modify the AssumeRole request in Account B to pass the exact required ExternalId, preserving the intended protection encoded by the trust policy. Option A incorrectly attributes ExternalId validation to KMS, but ExternalId is checked by STS trust policy evaluation. Option C changes session duration rather than satisfying the trust policy condition. Option D removes a required security control, which is explicitly disallowed.
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.