The answer is to configure Origin Access Control (OAC) for the S3 origin and attach a bucket policy that explicitly denies all principals except the CloudFront distribution. This works because the bucket policy uses the `aws:SourceArn` or `aws:SourceAccount` condition key to restrict access solely to requests coming through CloudFront, effectively blocking any direct S3 endpoint requests. On the SAA-C03 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of securing an S3-backed CloudFront distribution, often appearing as a multi-select question where the trap is choosing a simple bucket policy that allows CloudFront access but fails to explicitly deny direct access. A common memory tip is to think of it as a "whitelist with a lock"—you must both allow CloudFront and explicitly deny everything else. Remember the mnemonic "OAC Deny All" to recall that OAC plus a deny-all policy is the pair that prevents users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing S3 directly.
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 B2B file exchange site uses CloudFront in front of an S3 origin. Which two settings help keep users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing the bucket directly?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use an S3 bucket policy that allows access only from the CloudFront distribution
Option B is correct because an S3 bucket policy that explicitly denies access to any principal except the CloudFront distribution's origin access identity (OAI) or origin access control (OAC) ensures that direct requests to the S3 bucket are blocked. This policy uses the `aws:SourceArn` or `aws:SourceAccount` condition key to restrict access exclusively to the CloudFront service, preventing users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing the bucket directly via its S3 endpoint.
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 S3 static website hosting
Why it's wrong here
Website hosting requires public-style access patterns and does not protect the origin.
✓
Use an S3 bucket policy that allows access only from the CloudFront distribution
Why this is correct
The bucket policy should trust the CloudFront distribution and deny direct public access.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Configure Origin Access Control for the S3 origin
Why this is correct
Origin Access Control allows CloudFront to securely access a private S3 bucket.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Enable CloudFront standard logging
Why it's wrong here
Logging records requests but does not block direct S3 access.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse enabling S3 static website hosting (Option A) as a security measure, when in fact it opens a separate direct access endpoint, or they overlook that Origin Access Control (Option C) alone is insufficient without a corresponding bucket policy to enforce the restriction.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Origin Access Control (OAC) uses AWS Signature Version 4 (SigV4) to sign requests from CloudFront to S3, replacing the legacy Origin Access Identity (OAI) that relied on a special principal. The bucket policy must include a condition like `aws:SourceArn` matching the CloudFront distribution ARN to prevent unauthorized direct access. In a real-world scenario, if the bucket policy is misconfigured to allow `s3:GetObject` for `Principal: "*"`, any user with the bucket URL can download objects, bypassing CloudFront's caching and security features.
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 — 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: Use an S3 bucket policy that allows access only from the CloudFront distribution — Option B is correct because an S3 bucket policy that explicitly denies access to any principal except the CloudFront distribution's origin access identity (OAI) or origin access control (OAC) ensures that direct requests to the S3 bucket are blocked. This policy uses the `aws:SourceArn` or `aws:SourceAccount` condition key to restrict access exclusively to the CloudFront service, preventing users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing the bucket directly via its S3 endpoint.
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 →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A financial reporting platform uses CloudFront in front of an S3 origin. Which two settings help keep users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing the bucket directly?
hard
✓ A.Use an S3 bucket policy that allows access only from the CloudFront distribution
B.Enable CloudFront standard logging
C.Enable S3 static website hosting
✓ D.Configure Origin Access Control for the S3 origin
Why A: Option A is correct because an S3 bucket policy can explicitly deny access to any principal except the CloudFront distribution's origin access identity (OAI) or origin access control (OAC). This ensures that direct requests to the S3 bucket URL are rejected, forcing all traffic through CloudFront. The policy uses a condition like `aws:SourceArn` or `aws:SourceAccount` to restrict access to the CloudFront distribution's ARN, preventing bypass.
Variation 2. A financial reporting platform uses CloudFront in front of an S3 origin. Which two settings help keep users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing the bucket directly? The design must avoid adding custom operational scripts.
hard
✓ A.Use an S3 bucket policy that allows access only from the CloudFront distribution
B.Enable CloudFront standard logging
C.Enable S3 static website hosting
✓ D.Configure Origin Access Control for the S3 origin
Why A: Option A is correct because an S3 bucket policy that explicitly denies access to any principal except the CloudFront distribution's origin access identity (OAI) or origin access control (OAC) ensures that direct requests to the S3 bucket endpoint are rejected. This policy leverages the aws:SourceArn or aws:SourceIp condition key to restrict access solely to CloudFront, preventing users from bypassing the CDN and hitting the bucket directly.
Variation 3. A e-learning platform uses CloudFront in front of an S3 origin. Which two settings help keep users from bypassing CloudFront and accessing the bucket directly?
hard
A.Enable CloudFront standard logging
✓ B.Configure Origin Access Control for the S3 origin
C.Enable S3 static website hosting
✓ D.Use an S3 bucket policy that allows access only from the CloudFront distribution
Why B: Origin Access Control (OAC) is the recommended way to restrict access to an S3 bucket so that it only accepts requests from a specific CloudFront distribution. By configuring OAC, CloudFront signs requests to S3 using a trusted identity, and the bucket policy denies any direct access that does not include that signature, effectively preventing users from bypassing CloudFront.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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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.
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