IAM Policy for SAP S3 Backup — Missing ListBucket Permission | AWS SAP on AWS Specialty Explained
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of design of sap workloads on aws. 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.
Refer to the exhibit. An SAP administrator created this IAM policy for an SAP application user that performs database backups to Amazon S3. The user reports that backup jobs fail with an access denied error. 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 policy is missing s3:ListBucket permission on the bucket.
The error occurs because the IAM policy grants s3:PutObject and s3:DeleteObject on the bucket and its objects, but it does not include s3:ListBucket permission. When an SAP application performs a backup to S3, the AWS SDK or CLI often first lists the bucket to verify its existence or check for existing objects before writing. Without s3:ListBucket, the list operation fails, causing the access denied error even though the write permission is present.
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 policy has a syntax error and is invalid.
Why it's wrong here
The policy syntax is valid.
✗
The policy does not allow s3:PutObject for the bucket.
Why it's wrong here
The policy allows s3:PutObject.
✓
The policy is missing s3:ListBucket permission on the bucket.
Why this is correct
ListBucket is required to access objects in the bucket.
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 Deny statement blocks all DeleteObject requests.
Why it's wrong here
The Deny only applies when SecureTransport is false.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
This exam often tests the subtle requirement that s3:ListBucket is needed on the bucket resource (not the object ARN) for operations like PutObject to succeed, leading candidates to incorrectly assume that only object-level permissions are sufficient.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, S3 operations like PutObject implicitly require the s3:ListBucket permission on the bucket when the AWS SDK uses multipart uploads or checks for bucket existence via the HeadBucket call. In real-world SAP backup scenarios, the backup tool (e.g., SAP HANA Backint or AWS Backint agent) often performs a ListObjectsV2 call to manage backup lifecycle or verify the target path, and without s3:ListBucket, the SDK throws an AccessDenied error before any PutObject attempt. This is a common misconfiguration where administrators grant object-level permissions but forget the bucket-level list permission.
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 of SAP Workloads on AWS — This question tests Design of SAP Workloads on AWS — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The policy is missing s3:ListBucket permission on the bucket. — The error occurs because the IAM policy grants s3:PutObject and s3:DeleteObject on the bucket and its objects, but it does not include s3:ListBucket permission. When an SAP application performs a backup to S3, the AWS SDK or CLI often first lists the bucket to verify its existence or check for existing objects before writing. Without s3:ListBucket, the list operation fails, causing the access denied error even though the write permission is present.
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.
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 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.
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.