Troubleshooting AWS CLI EC2 Metadata Access with IAM Instance Profiles
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of technology. 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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
"Error: 'SAP' is not authorized to perform: ec2:DescribeInstances on resource: arn:aws:ec2:us-east-1:123456789012:instance/*"
An SAP administrator is trying to set up an AWS CLI script that queries EC2 instance metadata. The script runs on an EC2 instance with an IAM role attached. The IAM role has the following policy:
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.
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit.
"Error: 'SAP' is not authorized to perform: ec2:DescribeInstances on resource: arn:aws:ec2:us-east-1:123456789012:instance/*"
A
The instance does not have an IAM instance profile associated, or the profile name does not match the role name.
If the instance profile is not attached or is misconfigured, the role's permissions are not applied, causing the authorization error.
B
The IAM policy does not specify a resource ARN.
Why wrong: The policy uses "Resource": "*", which is valid for DescribeInstances.
C
The IAM role does not have the ec2:DescribeInstances action allowed.
Why wrong: The policy allows the action, but the error persists.
D
The AWS CLI is not configured with the correct region.
Why wrong: Region mismatch would cause a different error, not an authorization error.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The instance does not have an IAM instance profile associated, or the profile name does not match the role name.
The most likely cause is that the EC2 instance does not have an IAM instance profile associated, or the profile name does not match the role name. Without a properly attached instance profile, the AWS CLI cannot obtain temporary credentials from the instance metadata service (IMDS), so any API call—including ec2:DescribeInstances—will fail with an access denied or credential error, regardless of the IAM policy being correctly configured.
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 instance does not have an IAM instance profile associated, or the profile name does not match the role name.
Why this is correct
If the instance profile is not attached or is misconfigured, the role's permissions are not applied, causing the authorization error.
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 IAM policy does not specify a resource ARN.
Why it's wrong here
The policy uses "Resource": "*", which is valid for DescribeInstances.
✗
The IAM role does not have the ec2:DescribeInstances action allowed.
Why it's wrong here
The policy allows the action, but the error persists.
✗
The AWS CLI is not configured with the correct region.
Why it's wrong here
Region mismatch would cause a different error, not an authorization error.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume the IAM policy itself is the problem, when in fact the issue is the missing or mismatched instance profile that prevents credential retrieval from the instance metadata service.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When an IAM role is attached to an EC2 instance, the instance must have an instance profile that maps to the role; the AWS CLI retrieves temporary security credentials from the instance metadata service (IMDS) at http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/. If no instance profile is associated, the metadata endpoint returns an empty or 404 response, causing the CLI to fail with a credential error. This is a common misconfiguration where the role exists but the instance profile is missing or incorrectly named.
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 company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
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.
Technology — This question tests Technology — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The instance does not have an IAM instance profile associated, or the profile name does not match the role name. — The most likely cause is that the EC2 instance does not have an IAM instance profile associated, or the profile name does not match the role name. Without a properly attached instance profile, the AWS CLI cannot obtain temporary credentials from the instance metadata service (IMDS), so any API call—including ec2:DescribeInstances—will fail with an access denied or credential error, regardless of the IAM policy being correctly configured.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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.
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