SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity

Exhibit

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": {
        "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root"
      },
      "Action": [
        "s3:GetObject",
        "s3:PutObject"
      ],
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-log-bucket/AWSLogs/*"
    }
  ]
}

Refer to the exhibit. This S3 bucket policy is attached to a bucket in the security account (111111111111). The policy grants access to account 123456789012. A service in account 123456789012 tries to write a log file to s3://my-log-bucket/AWSLogs/123456789012/logfile.txt. What will happen?

⚠ Common exam trap

Watch out — candidates often assume a root user principal only applies to the literal root user credentials, not to all identities in the account, leading them to incorrectly think the service's write would be denied.

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 write is allowed because the policy grants access to the root of account 123456789012.

The S3 bucket policy grants access to the root user of account 123456789012 (the `Principal` is the AWS account root user via the account ARN). When a service in that account writes to the bucket, the request is made on behalf of the account, and the root user effectively owns all identities in the account. The policy allows `s3:PutObject` on the `AWSLogs/123456789012/*` prefix, so the write to `s3://my-log-bucket/AWSLogs/123456789012/logfile.txt` is permitted. Option B correctly identifies that the root user grant covers the service's action.

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 write is denied because the principal is the root user, not an IAM role.
Why it's wrong here
Root principal includes all IAM entities.
✓
The write is allowed because the policy grants access to the root of account 123456789012.
Why this is correct
Correct: the root principal covers all IAM entities in that account.
✗
The write is denied because the policy only allows GetObject, not PutObject.
Why it's wrong here
PutObject is in the action list.
✗
The write is allowed only if the object key is exactly 'AWSLogs/123456789012/'.
Why it's wrong here
The wildcard /* allows any object under the prefix.

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

Go deeper

SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Related to this question