- A
Use API Gateway's WebSocket API.
Why wrong: WebSocket is for bidirectional streaming, not REST authentication.
- B
Enable API Gateway's VPC Link.
Why wrong: VPC Link is for integrating with private VPC resources.
- C
Configure a Lambda authorizer to validate the OAuth 2.0 token.
Lambda authorizer can call the IdP to validate tokens and return an IAM policy.
- D
Use usage plans with API keys.
Why wrong: API keys are for throttling, not authentication.
Question 593 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 designing a new application on AWS that uses Amazon API Gateway and AWS Lambda to expose a RESTful API. The API must authenticate requests using OAuth 2.0 with an external identity provider (IdP). The company wants to offload the authentication logic to the API Gateway. Which API Gateway feature should they use?
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
✓
Configure a Lambda authorizer to validate the OAuth 2.0 token.
Option C is correct because a Lambda authorizer (formerly known as a custom authorizer) allows API Gateway to call a Lambda function that validates the OAuth 2.0 token (e.g., JWT) from the external IdP. This offloads authentication logic from the backend Lambda to API Gateway, enabling centralized token validation before the request reaches the integration.
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 API Gateway's WebSocket API.
Why it's wrong here
WebSocket is for bidirectional streaming, not REST authentication.
- ✗
Enable API Gateway's VPC Link.
Why it's wrong here
VPC Link is for integrating with private VPC resources.
- ✓
Configure a Lambda authorizer to validate the OAuth 2.0 token.
Why this is correct
Lambda authorizer can call the IdP to validate tokens and return an IAM policy.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Use usage plans with API keys.
Why it's wrong here
API keys are for throttling, not authentication.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse API keys (which identify the client application) with OAuth 2.0 tokens (which authenticate the end user), leading them to incorrectly select usage plans with API keys.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, a Lambda authorizer receives the incoming request context (including headers, query string, or path parameters) and returns an IAM policy that grants or denies access. For OAuth 2.0, the Lambda function typically validates the JWT signature using the IdP's public key (e.g., from JWKS endpoint) and checks claims like `exp` and `aud`. A common real-world scenario is using Amazon Cognito as the external IdP, where the Lambda authorizer can verify Cognito-issued tokens without needing a separate validation service.
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.
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Design for New Solutions — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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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: Configure a Lambda authorizer to validate the OAuth 2.0 token. — Option C is correct because a Lambda authorizer (formerly known as a custom authorizer) allows API Gateway to call a Lambda function that validates the OAuth 2.0 token (e.g., JWT) from the external IdP. This offloads authentication logic from the backend Lambda to API Gateway, enabling centralized token validation before the request reaches the integration.
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.
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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