SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
A company uses AWS Organizations with 100 accounts. The security team wants to enforce that all IAM users must use multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access the AWS Management Console. They create an SCP that denies all actions if MFA is not present. However, some users report that they cannot access the console even with MFA. What is the most likely reason?
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 SCP does not include an explicit allow for the sts:GetSessionToken action.
When users authenticate with MFA, the AWS Management Console calls the STS GetSessionToken API to obtain temporary credentials that include the MFA session. If the SCP denies all actions, including sts:GetSessionToken, then even with valid MFA the user cannot obtain the necessary temporary credentials, resulting in access denial. The SCP must explicitly allow the sts:GetSessionToken action for users who authenticate with MFA. Option B is incorrect because the issue is not about the users' IAM policies but about the SCP. Option C is incorrect because SCPs apply to all principals in the account, including administrators. Option D is incorrect because the SCP does not inherently affect the root user differently; root user is not affected by SCPs in the management account.
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 SCP does not include an explicit allow for the sts:GetSessionToken action.
Why this is correct
Without allowing STS:GetSessionToken, the MFA challenge cannot be completed.
- ✗
The IAM policy attached to the users does not allow any actions.
Why it's wrong here
Even if IAM policy allows, SCP can deny.
- ✗
The SCP does not apply to users who have administrative privileges.
Why it's wrong here
SCPs apply to all IAM principals in the account.
- ✗
The SCP also denies access to the root user of each account.
Why it's wrong here
Root user is not affected by SCPs.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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