PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
```
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"ec2:Describe*",
"ec2:StartInstances",
"ec2:StopInstances"
],
"Resource": "*"
},
{
"Effect": "Deny",
"Action": "ec2:TerminateInstances",
"Resource": "*"
}
]
}
```An SAP administrator attaches the above IAM policy to a user. What actions can the user perform?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently assume the wildcard ec2:Describe* also covers start/stop/terminate actions, but it only grants read-only Describe permissions, not lifecycle management actions.
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
✓
Describe, start, and stop EC2 instances, but not terminate them.
The IAM policy explicitly allows ec2:Describe*, ec2:StartInstances, and ec2:StopInstances actions, but does not include ec2:TerminateInstances. Therefore, the user can describe, start, and stop EC2 instances, but cannot terminate them. The Deny effect on ec2:TerminateInstances is not present, but the absence of an Allow means the action is implicitly denied.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Describe, start, and stop EC2 instances, but not terminate them.
Why this is correct
Allow actions include describe, start, stop; deny overrides for terminate.
- ✗
Perform all EC2 actions including terminate.
Why it's wrong here
Terminate is explicitly denied.
- ✗
Only describe EC2 instances.
Why it's wrong here
The policy also allows StartInstances and StopInstances.
- ✗
Only start and stop instances.
Why it's wrong here
Describe is also allowed.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This PAS-C01 question is part of Courseiva's 1,616-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PAS-C01 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 PAS-C01 exam.