S3 Bucket Policy Missing Explicit Deny for IP Restriction — Common Mistake
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of threat detection and incident response. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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. A security engineer is reviewing an S3 bucket policy. The policy is intended to allow read access to objects in the bucket only from the corporate network (203.0.113.0/24). However, users outside the network can still access the bucket. What is the most likely reason?
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.
The bucket policy does not include an explicit Deny statement for IP addresses outside the allowed range.
Without an explicit Deny, the Allow applies only to the specified IP, but other users might be denied by default if no other policies allow them. However, if users have IAM permissions, they could access from any IP. The policy should include a Deny to restrict.
B
The s3:GetObject action is misspelled; it should be s3:GetObjectVersion.
Why wrong: s3:GetObject is correct.
C
The condition key should be aws:SourceIp instead of aws:SourceIp.
Why wrong: The condition key is correct as shown.
D
The bucket policy must be attached to the bucket's ACL instead.
Why wrong: Bucket policies are evaluated; ACLs are separate.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The bucket policy does not include an explicit Deny statement for IP addresses outside the allowed range.
The bucket policy only grants read access to requests originating from the corporate network (203.0.113.0/24) using an Allow effect with a condition. Without an explicit Deny statement for all other IP addresses, the default IAM/S3 behavior applies: any request that is not explicitly denied is implicitly allowed. This means users outside the allowed range can still access the bucket if they have other valid permissions (e.g., from an IAM user policy or a public bucket ACL).
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 bucket policy does not include an explicit Deny statement for IP addresses outside the allowed range.
Why this is correct
Without an explicit Deny, the Allow applies only to the specified IP, but other users might be denied by default if no other policies allow them. However, if users have IAM permissions, they could access from any IP. The policy should include a Deny to restrict.
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 s3:GetObject action is misspelled; it should be s3:GetObjectVersion.
Why it's wrong here
s3:GetObject is correct.
✗
The condition key should be aws:SourceIp instead of aws:SourceIp.
Why it's wrong here
The condition key is correct as shown.
✗
The bucket policy must be attached to the bucket's ACL instead.
Why it's wrong here
Bucket policies are evaluated; ACLs are separate.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume an Allow statement with a condition is sufficient to restrict access, forgetting that without an explicit Deny for non-matching conditions, other permissions can still grant access.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
The condition key is correct as shown.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
S3 bucket policies are evaluated in the context of AWS IAM policy evaluation logic, which defaults to an implicit deny for any action not explicitly allowed. However, if another policy (e.g., an IAM user policy or a bucket ACL) grants access, the Allow from that policy combined with the lack of an explicit Deny in the bucket policy results in access being granted. To enforce IP restrictions, you must add a Deny statement with a NotIpAddress condition for the aws:SourceIp key, which overrides any other Allow that might apply.
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.
Visual reference
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.
Threat Detection and Incident Response — This question tests Threat Detection and Incident Response — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The bucket policy does not include an explicit Deny statement for IP addresses outside the allowed range. — The bucket policy only grants read access to requests originating from the corporate network (203.0.113.0/24) using an Allow effect with a condition. Without an explicit Deny statement for all other IP addresses, the default IAM/S3 behavior applies: any request that is not explicitly denied is implicitly allowed. This means users outside the allowed range can still access the bucket if they have other valid permissions (e.g., from an IAM user policy or a public bucket ACL).
What should I do if I get this SCS-C02 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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Question Discussion
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