The answer is the bucket policy only grants access to the root user of account 123456789012, not to other accounts. This is because the Principal element in the policy is set to the root user ARN of the bucket owner’s account, which means only that specific identity—not any IAM user or role from a different account—can perform the allowed actions. On the AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional SAP-C02 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how S3 bucket policy cross-account access root user restrictions work, often appearing as a trap where you must distinguish between granting access to an entire account versus a specific principal. A common mistake is assuming that allowing the root user implicitly permits all IAM entities in that account, but cross-account access requires explicitly listing the external account’s root user or a specific IAM role. Memory tip: “Root user in the policy means root user only—no delegation across accounts.”
SAP-C02 Practice Question: Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design solutions for organizational complexity. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 has a central S3 bucket for logs (central-logs-bucket) in account 123456789012. The bucket policy is shown in the exhibit. A developer in account 111111111111 tries to access an object in the bucket using the AWS CLI without the --no-sign-request option. The request fails. What is the MOST likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The bucket policy only grants access to the root user of account 123456789012, not to other accounts.
Option C is correct. The bucket policy grants access only to the root user of account 123456789012 (the bucket owner account), not to other accounts. The developer's account (111111111111) is not authorized. Option A is wrong because secure transport is required, but the request likely uses HTTPS. Option B is wrong because signed requests are used. Option D is wrong because the bucket policy explicitly allows access, but only to the specified principal.
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.
✗
The bucket policy denies access from all accounts except 123456789012.
Why it's wrong here
The policy only allows; there is no explicit deny.
✓
The bucket policy only grants access to the root user of account 123456789012, not to other accounts.
Why this is correct
The Principal is set to the root user of the bucket owner account.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The request is not using HTTPS, so it is denied by the aws:SecureTransport condition.
The request is not signed, so it is denied by the aws:SecureTransport condition.
Why it's wrong here
The --no-sign-request flag is not used; the request is signed.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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 SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — This question tests Design Solutions for Organizational Complexity — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The bucket policy only grants access to the root user of account 123456789012, not to other accounts. — Option C is correct. The bucket policy grants access only to the root user of account 123456789012 (the bucket owner account), not to other accounts. The developer's account (111111111111) is not authorized. Option A is wrong because secure transport is required, but the request likely uses HTTPS. Option B is wrong because signed requests are used. Option D is wrong because the bucket policy explicitly allows access, but only to the specified principal.
What should I do if I get this SAP-C02 question wrong?
Identify which SAP-C02 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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 →
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
This SAP-C02 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 SAP-C02 exam.
Question Discussion
Share a tip, memory trick, or ask about the reasoning behind this question. Do not post real exam questions, leaked content, braindumps, or copyrighted exam material. Comments are moderated and may be removed without notice.
Sign in to join the discussion.