- A
Use AWS Secrets Manager to store and rotate credentials, and grant the EKS pod access via an IAM role
Secrets Manager rotates credentials automatically and integrates with IAM for access.
- B
Use IAM database authentication for RDS and assign an IAM role to the pod
Why wrong: IAM auth uses tokens, not passwords, but does not rotate credentials; it's a different approach.
- C
Hardcode the credentials in the container image and rotate the image regularly
Why wrong: Hardcoding credentials is insecure and violates best practices.
- D
Store credentials in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store and grant the EKS pod access via an IAM role
Why wrong: Parameter Store stores secrets but does not rotate them automatically.
Question 761 of 1,746
SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. 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 is deploying a containerized application on Amazon EKS. The application needs to access an Amazon RDS database. The security team requires that database credentials be rotated automatically and never stored in plaintext. Which solution should the architect use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
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
✓
Use AWS Secrets Manager to store and rotate credentials, and grant the EKS pod access via an IAM role
AWS Secrets Manager is the correct choice because it natively supports automatic rotation of RDS database credentials via a built-in Lambda rotation function, and it integrates with IAM roles to grant EKS pods secure access without storing secrets in plaintext. By using an IAM role for the pod (via IRSA), the application can retrieve credentials at runtime from Secrets Manager, ensuring compliance with the security team's requirements.
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.
- ✓
Use AWS Secrets Manager to store and rotate credentials, and grant the EKS pod access via an IAM role
Why this is correct
Secrets Manager rotates credentials automatically and integrates with IAM for access.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "never" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use IAM database authentication for RDS and assign an IAM role to the pod
Why it's wrong here
IAM auth uses tokens, not passwords, but does not rotate credentials; it's a different approach.
- ✗
Hardcode the credentials in the container image and rotate the image regularly
Why it's wrong here
Hardcoding credentials is insecure and violates best practices.
- ✗
Store credentials in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store and grant the EKS pod access via an IAM role
Why it's wrong here
Parameter Store stores secrets but does not rotate them automatically.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store with Secrets Manager, assuming Parameter Store supports automatic rotation, but Parameter Store lacks native rotation capabilities for RDS credentials, making Secrets Manager the only correct choice for automated rotation.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
AWS Secrets Manager uses an AWS Lambda function (customizable or AWS-provided) to rotate RDS credentials, updating both the secret in Secrets Manager and the database user password in RDS, typically on a schedule. The EKS pod accesses the secret via IAM Roles for Service Accounts (IRSA), which maps a Kubernetes service account to an IAM role, allowing the pod to call Secrets Manager APIs without embedding long-lived credentials. This approach ensures that even if a pod is compromised, the attacker cannot access the database beyond the token's validity period.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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 for New Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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Targeted practice on this topic area only
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this SAP-C02 question test?
Design for New Solutions — This question tests Design for New Solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Use AWS Secrets Manager to store and rotate credentials, and grant the EKS pod access via an IAM role — AWS Secrets Manager is the correct choice because it natively supports automatic rotation of RDS database credentials via a built-in Lambda rotation function, and it integrates with IAM roles to grant EKS pods secure access without storing secrets in plaintext. By using an IAM role for the pod (via IRSA), the application can retrieve credentials at runtime from Secrets Manager, ensuring compliance with the security team's requirements.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 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: "never". Absolute qualifier. True only if the statement has zero exceptions — be cautious of options that seem obvious but break down in edge cases.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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