PAS-C01 Technology Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"ec2:DescribeInstances",
"ec2:StartInstances",
"ec2:StopInstances"
],
"Resource": "*"
},
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": "ec2:TerminateInstances",
"Resource": "arn:aws:ec2:us-east-1:123456789012:instance/*"
}
]
}An SAP administrator created the IAM policy shown in the exhibit. When trying to terminate an EC2 instance with ID i-abc123 in us-west-2, the action fails. What is the reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often overlook the condition key in the policy and assume the action is universally allowed, failing to realize that conditions can restrict actions to specific regions, resources, or other attributes, leading them to incorrectly choose the implicit deny option.
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 ec2:TerminateInstances action is restricted to instances in us-east-1 only.
The policy includes a condition that restricts the ec2:TerminateInstances action to the us-east-1 region using the ec2:Region condition key. Since the instance i-abc123 is in us-west-2, the condition is not satisfied, causing the action to fail. AWS IAM policies evaluate conditions before allowing an action, and if the condition is not met, the action is 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.
- ✗
There is an implicit Deny for all actions not explicitly allowed.
Why it's wrong here
The policy allows TerminateInstances only for the specified ARN; other resources are implicitly denied.
- ✓
The ec2:TerminateInstances action is restricted to instances in us-east-1 only.
Why this is correct
The resource ARN specifies us-east-1, so terminating instances in other regions is denied.
- ✗
The policy is missing a condition key to allow termination in us-west-2.
Why it's wrong here
No condition keys are used; the issue is the resource ARN.
- ✗
The ec2:StartInstances and ec2:StopInstances actions are not granted for the specific instance.
Why it's wrong here
Those actions are allowed on all resources.
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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.