Resolving Cross-Account IAM Role Permissions for EC2 Operations
This PAS-C01 practice question tests your understanding of operations and maintenance. 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.
An IAM policy is attached to an IAM role used by an SAP system to perform backups. The policy is shown above. The SAP system can successfully list EC2 instances but fails to start or stop them. 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 EC2 instances are in a different AWS account, and cross-account access is not configured.
The policy grants ec2:StartInstances and ec2:StopInstances on all resources (*), which would allow starting and stopping instances in the same account. However, if the EC2 instances are in a different AWS account, the IAM policy in the current account does not grant cross‑account access. Cross‑account access requires additional configuration such as a trust policy in the target account or resource‑based policies. Options A and B are unrelated, and option D is incorrect because the role does not need an instance profile for an SAP system that assumes the role directly.
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 S3 bucket permissions are missing; the backup process requires S3 access first.
Why it's wrong here
S3 permissions are separate and not required for EC2 start/stop.
✗
The policy does not include the ec2:DescribeInstanceStatus action.
Why it's wrong here
Start/Stop actions do not require DescribeInstanceStatus.
✓
The EC2 instances are in a different AWS account, and cross-account access is not configured.
Why this is correct
The policy allows actions on resources in the current account, but not cross-account.
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 is attached to the role, but the role is not associated with an instance profile.
Why it's wrong here
The role can be used by the SAP system directly, not necessarily via instance profile.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which PAS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Operations and Maintenance — This question tests Operations and Maintenance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The EC2 instances are in a different AWS account, and cross-account access is not configured. — The policy grants ec2:StartInstances and ec2:StopInstances on all resources (*), which would allow starting and stopping instances in the same account. However, if the EC2 instances are in a different AWS account, the IAM policy in the current account does not grant cross‑account access. Cross‑account access requires additional configuration such as a trust policy in the target account or resource‑based policies. Options A and B are unrelated, and option D is incorrect because the role does not need an instance profile for an SAP system that assumes the role directly.
What should I do if I get this PAS-C01 question wrong?
Identify which PAS-C01 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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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Question Discussion
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