- A
Enable CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) for the S3 origin.
OAC lets CloudFront sign origin requests so the S3 bucket can trust only that distribution.
- B
Turn on S3 Block Public Access for the bucket and account.
Block Public Access prevents accidental public ACLs or policies from making the bucket directly reachable.
- C
Add an S3 bucket policy that allows requests only from the CloudFront distribution using aws:SourceArn.
A source-ARN condition restricts S3 access to the intended CloudFront distribution and blocks direct bucket access.
- D
Enable S3 static website hosting on the bucket.
Why wrong: Website hosting makes the bucket publicly reachable through a website endpoint, which conflicts with the private-content requirement.
- E
Make the object ACLs public so CloudFront can retrieve them.
Why wrong: Public ACLs would expose objects directly and undermine the requirement that direct S3 URL access must fail.
Quick Answer
The answer is to implement CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) with an S3 bucket policy that restricts access using the `aws:SourceArn` condition key. This works because OAC uses a signed request mechanism to cryptographically verify that each request originates from your specific CloudFront distribution, so any direct S3 URL request lacking that signature is automatically denied. On the SAA-C03 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the modern OAC over the legacy Origin Access Identity (OAI), and a common trap is choosing OAI or a simple bucket policy without the `aws:SourceArn` condition, which would leave the bucket vulnerable. Remember the mnemonic "OAC Over OAI" — if you see a question about restricting S3 to CloudFront only, always pick OAC for stronger security and KMS support.
SAA-C03 Design Secure Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design secure architectures. 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 company stores sensitive PDFs in Amazon S3 and serves them through CloudFront. Users must access PDFs only through CloudFront, and direct S3 URL requests must fail. Which three changes should be implemented? Select three.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Enable CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) for the S3 origin.
Option A is correct because CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) is the modern, recommended method to restrict S3 bucket access exclusively to a CloudFront distribution. OAC uses a signed request mechanism that verifies the request originates from CloudFront, ensuring direct S3 URL requests are denied. This replaces the older Origin Access Identity (OAI) and provides stronger security with support for features like cross-region buckets and server-side encryption with KMS.
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.
- ✓
Enable CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) for the S3 origin.
Why this is correct
OAC lets CloudFront sign origin requests so the S3 bucket can trust only that distribution.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Turn on S3 Block Public Access for the bucket and account.
Why this is correct
Block Public Access prevents accidental public ACLs or policies from making the bucket directly reachable.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Add an S3 bucket policy that allows requests only from the CloudFront distribution using aws:SourceArn.
Why this is correct
A source-ARN condition restricts S3 access to the intended CloudFront distribution and blocks direct bucket access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable S3 static website hosting on the bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Website hosting makes the bucket publicly reachable through a website endpoint, which conflicts with the private-content requirement.
- ✗
Make the object ACLs public so CloudFront can retrieve them.
Why it's wrong here
Public ACLs would expose objects directly and undermine the requirement that direct S3 URL access must fail.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse OAC with OAI or think that enabling static website hosting is necessary for CloudFront integration, when in fact it creates an additional attack surface by exposing a direct S3 endpoint.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, CloudFront OAC works by generating a unique set of AWS Signature Version 4 (SigV4) credentials for each request, which the S3 bucket policy validates using the `aws:SourceArn` or `aws:SourceAccount` condition keys. This ensures that even if a user discovers the S3 bucket URL, the request lacks the required CloudFront signature and is denied with a 403 Forbidden error. In a real-world scenario, this is critical for compliance with regulations like HIPAA or GDPR, where direct object access must be prevented.
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 media company stores terabytes of video archives that are accessed once a year for audit purposes. Moving these objects to a cold storage tier (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier, or Google Nearline) costs a fraction of hot storage. Questions like this test whether you understand storage tiers, access frequency tradeoffs, and retrieval latency requirements.
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.
- →
Design Secure Architectures — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
- →
Design Secure Architectures practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
- →
All SAA-C03 questions
1,040 questions across all exam domains
- →
SAA-C03 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
- →
SAA-C03 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
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.
Design Secure Architectures practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to Design Secure Architectures.
Design Resilient Architectures practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to Design Resilient Architectures.
Design High-Performing Architectures practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to Design High-Performing Architectures.
Design Cost-Optimized Architectures practice questions
Practise SAA-C03 questions linked to Design Cost-Optimized Architectures.
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.
Practice this exam
Start a free SAA-C03 practice session
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAA-C03 question test?
Design Secure Architectures — This question tests Design Secure Architectures — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) for the S3 origin. — Option A is correct because CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) is the modern, recommended method to restrict S3 bucket access exclusively to a CloudFront distribution. OAC uses a signed request mechanism that verifies the request originates from CloudFront, ensuring direct S3 URL requests are denied. This replaces the older Origin Access Identity (OAI) and provides stronger security with support for features like cross-region buckets and server-side encryption with KMS.
What should I do if I get this SAA-C03 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.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This SAA-C03 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SAA-C03 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.