- A
The WAF web ACL intended for CloudFront must be created in the us-east-1 (N. Virginia) region (CloudFront scope), even if the rest of the stack is in another region.
CloudFront-scoped WAF web ACLs use a global scope that is provisioned/managed in us-east-1. Creating the web ACL in the wrong region (or with the wrong scope) prevents CloudFront from evaluating the expected web ACL rules, which would lead to no rule matches in logs.
- B
WAF rules only evaluate requests after they reach the origin, so the absence of matches means the origin is blocking traffic first.
Why wrong: WAF evaluates requests at the edge (before the request is forwarded to the origin). If rules never match, the issue is more likely related to WAF association/scope/rule logic than the origin blocking first.
- C
For CloudFront, you must use a regional WAF endpoint and cannot use a global web ACL.
Why wrong: CloudFront uses a global WAF web ACL scope. The service expects a CloudFront-scoped web ACL, which is created/managed in us-east-1.
- D
WAF web ACL rules never apply to signed URLs or signed cookies, so the web ACL is bypassed by design.
Why wrong: Signed URLs and signed cookies are still requests that WAF evaluates. WAF does not bypass evaluation solely due to the request being signed.
SAA-C03 Design Secure Architectures Practice Question
This SAA-C03 practice question tests your understanding of design secure architectures. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
You use Amazon CloudFront in front of a private content S3 origin. To mitigate an OWASP Top 10 issue, you created a WAF web ACL and associated it to the CloudFront distribution, but attacks are still reaching the origin.
CloudWatch logs show the web ACL rules never match for the CloudFront requests.
What is the most likely configuration mistake?
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.
Clue:
"never"Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
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
The WAF web ACL intended for CloudFront must be created in the us-east-1 (N. Virginia) region (CloudFront scope), even if the rest of the stack is in another region.
When using AWS WAF with CloudFront, the web ACL must be created in the US East (N. Virginia) region (us-east-1) because CloudFront is a global service that only supports WAF web ACLs with a global scope, which are always defined in us-east-1. If the web ACL is created in any other region, it will be a regional web ACL and cannot be associated with a CloudFront distribution, causing the rules to never be evaluated against incoming requests. This explains why CloudWatch logs show no rule matches—the web ACL is effectively not attached to the CloudFront distribution.
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 WAF web ACL intended for CloudFront must be created in the us-east-1 (N. Virginia) region (CloudFront scope), even if the rest of the stack is in another region.
Why this is correct
CloudFront-scoped WAF web ACLs use a global scope that is provisioned/managed in us-east-1. Creating the web ACL in the wrong region (or with the wrong scope) prevents CloudFront from evaluating the expected web ACL rules, which would lead to no rule matches in logs.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "most likely", "never" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
WAF rules only evaluate requests after they reach the origin, so the absence of matches means the origin is blocking traffic first.
Why it's wrong here
WAF evaluates requests at the edge (before the request is forwarded to the origin). If rules never match, the issue is more likely related to WAF association/scope/rule logic than the origin blocking first.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question described a scenario where the origin (e.g., an ALB) has its own WAF web ACL that is blocking traffic before CloudFront's WAF rules are evaluated, then option B could be correct in the sense that the origin's WAF is blocking requests first, but the statement as written is still inaccurate because WAF rules evaluate before reaching the origin.
- ✗
For CloudFront, you must use a regional WAF endpoint and cannot use a global web ACL.
Why it's wrong here
CloudFront uses a global WAF web ACL scope. The service expects a CloudFront-scoped web ACL, which is created/managed in us-east-1.
When this WOULD be correct
If the question stated that you are using an Application Load Balancer (ALB) or API Gateway in a specific region, then you must create a regional WAF web ACL in that same region and associate it with the ALB or API Gateway.
- ✗
WAF web ACL rules never apply to signed URLs or signed cookies, so the web ACL is bypassed by design.
Why it's wrong here
Signed URLs and signed cookies are still requests that WAF evaluates. WAF does not bypass evaluation solely due to the request being signed.
When this WOULD be correct
If a question states that a WAF web ACL is associated with a CloudFront distribution but requests with signed URLs are still bypassing the WAF and reaching the origin, and the WAF logs show no matches, then the correct answer could be that signed URLs bypass WAF evaluation. However, this is incorrect in practice; WAF evaluates all requests. A more plausible scenario: a question about CloudFront signed URLs and WAF might incorrectly claim that WAF does not inspect signed URLs, but that would be a trick.
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The SAA-C03 exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓The WAF web ACL intended for CloudFront must be created in the us-east-1 (N. Virginia) region (CloudFront scope), even if the rest of the stack is in another region.Correct answer▾
Why this is correct
CloudFront-scoped WAF web ACLs use a global scope that is provisioned/managed in us-east-1. Creating the web ACL in the wrong region (or with the wrong scope) prevents CloudFront from evaluating the expected web ACL rules, which would lead to no rule matches in logs.
✗WAF rules only evaluate requests after they reach the origin, so the absence of matches means the origin is blocking traffic first.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
WAF rules evaluate requests before they reach the origin, not after. The absence of matches indicates the web ACL is not being applied to CloudFront traffic, not that the origin is blocking requests.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question described a scenario where the origin (e.g., an ALB) has its own WAF web ACL that is blocking traffic before CloudFront's WAF rules are evaluated, then option B could be correct in the sense that the origin's WAF is blocking requests first, but the statement as written is still inaccurate because WAF rules evaluate before reaching the origin.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the order of evaluation or think that WAF only inspects traffic at the origin, not realizing that CloudFront integrates with WAF to inspect at the edge before forwarding to the origin.
✗For CloudFront, you must use a regional WAF endpoint and cannot use a global web ACL.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
CloudFront requires a global (CloudFront scope) web ACL, not a regional one. Associating a regional WAF web ACL with CloudFront is not supported, but the mistake here is that the web ACL was created in the wrong region (not us-east-1), not that it was regional.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If the question stated that you are using an Application Load Balancer (ALB) or API Gateway in a specific region, then you must create a regional WAF web ACL in that same region and associate it with the ALB or API Gateway.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse the regional vs. global scope of WAF, thinking CloudFront can use a regional endpoint, or they may not know that CloudFront requires a global web ACL created in us-east-1.
✗WAF web ACL rules never apply to signed URLs or signed cookies, so the web ACL is bypassed by design.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
WAF rules do apply to requests using signed URLs or signed cookies; the web ACL evaluates all requests that reach CloudFront, regardless of authentication method. The issue here is that the web ACL is not being applied at all because it was created in the wrong region.
★ When this WOULD be the correct answer
If a question states that a WAF web ACL is associated with a CloudFront distribution but requests with signed URLs are still bypassing the WAF and reaching the origin, and the WAF logs show no matches, then the correct answer could be that signed URLs bypass WAF evaluation. However, this is incorrect in practice; WAF evaluates all requests. A more plausible scenario: a question about CloudFront signed URLs and WAF might incorrectly claim that WAF does not inspect signed URLs, but that would be a trick.
Why candidates choose this
Candidates may confuse signed URLs/cookies with authentication mechanisms that bypass WAF, thinking that pre-signed URLs skip WAF inspection, when in fact WAF evaluates all requests at the CloudFront edge.
Analysis generated from the official SAA-C03blueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume WAF web ACLs can be created in any region for CloudFront, not realizing that CloudFront requires a global-scope web ACL that must be created in us-east-1, regardless of where the origin or other resources reside.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
CloudFront is a global service that operates from edge locations, and AWS WAF for CloudFront requires a web ACL with a global scope, which is always provisioned in the us-east-1 region. This is because CloudFront's control plane is centralized in us-east-1, and the WAF rules are distributed to all edge locations for evaluation. A common real-world mistake is creating the web ACL in the same region as the S3 bucket or other resources, which results in a regional web ACL that cannot be associated with CloudFront, leading to no protection.
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.
Visual reference
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
What to study next
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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: The WAF web ACL intended for CloudFront must be created in the us-east-1 (N. Virginia) region (CloudFront scope), even if the rest of the stack is in another region. — When using AWS WAF with CloudFront, the web ACL must be created in the US East (N. Virginia) region (us-east-1) because CloudFront is a global service that only supports WAF web ACLs with a global scope, which are always defined in us-east-1. If the web ACL is created in any other region, it will be a regional web ACL and cannot be associated with a CloudFront distribution, causing the rules to never be evaluated against incoming requests. This explains why CloudWatch logs show no rule matches—the web ACL is effectively not attached to the CloudFront distribution.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely", "never". 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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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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