SCS-C02 Identity and Access Management Practice Question
An IAM policy includes: { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "iam:PassRole", "Resource": "arn:aws:iam::*:role/MyRole" }. What does this allow?
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
✓
Allows the user to pass the role MyRole to an AWS service like Lambda.
Iam:PassRole allows a user to pass a role to an AWS service such as Lambda, enabling the service to assume that role. Option A is incorrect because creating a role requires the iam:CreateRole action, not iam:PassRole. Option C is incorrect because assuming a role requires the sts:AssumeRole action. Option D is incorrect because attaching a role to an IAM user is not a valid operation; roles are attached to services, not users.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Allows the user to create the role MyRole.
Why it's wrong here
The iam:PassRole permission has no bearing on role creation. Creating a role requires iam:CreateRole, along with permission to write the role's trust policy and any attached permission policies. PassRole simply authorizes the user to pass an existing role ARN to an AWS service; it does not provision, modify, or delete the role.
- ✓
Allows the user to pass the role MyRole to an AWS service like Lambda.
Why this is correct
This is the exact definition of iam:PassRole: it permits a user to specify an existing IAM role as a configuration parameter for an AWS service, such as setting the execution role for a Lambda function or the instance profile for an EC2 instance. The user is not assuming the role themselves, but rather delegating the role to the service so that the service can use its permissions after assuming it via its trust policy.
- ✗
Allows the user to assume the role MyRole.
Why it's wrong here
Assuming the role MyRole is an entirely different action: sts:AssumeRole. That operation lets the user or an application obtain temporary security credentials scoped to the role, after the role's trust policy explicitly allows the assuming principal. iam:PassRole only governs passing a role to a service during resource creation or configuration; it grants no right to derive credentials or directly use the role's permissions.
- ✗
Allows the user to attach the role to an IAM user.
Why it's wrong here
IAM roles are not objects that can be attached to an IAM user; you attach managed or inline policies to users, never roles. To let a user act as a role, you would grant sts:AssumeRole in a user policy, and the role's trust policy must allow the user as a principal. The iam:PassRole action does not perform any user attachment operation and instead is only used to hand a role ARN to an AWS service.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SCS-C02 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 SCS-C02 exam.