SAP-C02 Design for New Solutions Practice Question
This SAP-C02 practice question tests your understanding of design for new solutions. 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 bucket policy on an S3 bucket as shown in the exhibit. A cross-account role (CrossAccountRole) is used to access the bucket. The role has an IAM policy that allows s3:GetObject and s3:PutObject on the bucket. When users assume the role and try to upload objects without specifying encryption, the upload fails. What must the users do to successfully upload objects?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Include the x-amz-server-side-encryption header with value aws:kms in the upload request.
The bucket policy includes a condition that requires the `x-amz-server-side-encryption` header to be set to `aws:kms` for `s3:PutObject` operations. When users assume the cross-account role and upload objects without specifying encryption, the request fails because it does not satisfy this condition. Including the `x-amz-server-side-encryption: aws:kms` header in the upload request explicitly meets the condition, allowing the upload to succeed.
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.
✗
Remove the condition from the bucket policy.
Why it's wrong here
The condition is required for compliance.
✗
Add an IAM policy that allows s3:PutObject to the role.
Why it's wrong here
The role already has the permission.
✓
Include the x-amz-server-side-encryption header with value aws:kms in the upload request.
Why this is correct
The condition requires that header.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Grant the role permission to use the KMS key.
Why it's wrong here
The condition requires encryption header, not KMS key permission.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume the failure is due to missing KMS key permissions (Option D) or missing IAM permissions (Option B), but the actual cause is the bucket policy condition requiring the encryption header, which is a common S3 security pattern tested on the SAP-C02 exam.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 bucket policy conditions using `s3:x-amz-server-side-encryption` are evaluated at the time of the request against the headers provided. If the condition requires `aws:kms`, the request must include that header; otherwise, S3 denies the request with an AccessDenied error. The role does not need explicit KMS permissions unless the bucket policy also includes a condition referencing a specific KMS key (e.g., `kms:EncryptionContext`), which is not the case here.
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 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.
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
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 — 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: Include the x-amz-server-side-encryption header with value aws:kms in the upload request. — The bucket policy includes a condition that requires the `x-amz-server-side-encryption` header to be set to `aws:kms` for `s3:PutObject` operations. When users assume the cross-account role and upload objects without specifying encryption, the request fails because it does not satisfy this condition. Including the `x-amz-server-side-encryption: aws:kms` header in the upload request explicitly meets the condition, allowing the upload to succeed.
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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Question Discussion
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