This SOA-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security and compliance. 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. An IAM role has the trust policy shown. Which entity can assume this role?
Only the IAM user with the ARN arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Admin
Why wrong: The policy allows the root, not a specific user.
Any IAM user in any AWS account
Why wrong: Only the specified account is allowed.
Any IAM user in the AWS account 123456789012
The root principal includes all IAM users in the account.
Only users who have MFA enabled
Why wrong: No MFA condition is present.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Any IAM user in the AWS account 123456789012
The trust policy specifies `"AWS": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root"` as the principal, which allows any IAM user or role within the AWS account 123456789012 to assume the role, provided they have the necessary permissions in their own identity-based policies. This is because the root ARN of an account acts as a wildcard for all identities in that account. Option C correctly identifies that any IAM user in that account can assume the role.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Only the IAM user with the ARN arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/Admin
Why it's wrong here
The policy allows the root, not a specific user.
Any IAM user in any AWS account
Why it's wrong here
Only the specified account is allowed.
Any IAM user in the AWS account 123456789012
Why this is correct
The root principal includes all IAM users in the account.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Only users who have MFA enabled
Why it's wrong here
No MFA condition is present.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the account root ARN with a specific user ARN, thinking it only allows the root user, when in fact it allows any identity in the account to assume the role.
Detailed technical explanation
When an IAM role's trust policy specifies an account root ARN (e.g., `arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root`), it effectively grants trust to all IAM users and roles within that account, but the assuming entity must still have an IAM policy that allows the `sts:AssumeRole` action. Under the hood, AWS STS evaluates the trust policy first, then checks the caller's identity-based permissions; if both pass, temporary security credentials are issued. A common real-world scenario is using this pattern to delegate permissions within an account without creating multiple trust policies for each user.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Security and Compliance — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
Security and Compliance practice questions
Targeted practice on this topic area only
All SOA-C02 questions
1,546 questions across all exam domains
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator Associate SOA-C02 study guide
Full concept coverage aligned to exam objectives
SOA-C02 practice test guide
How to use practice tests most effectively before exam day
Related practice questions
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Monitoring, Logging, and Remediation.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Reliability and Business Continuity.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Deployment, Provisioning, and Automation.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Security and Compliance.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Networking and Content Delivery.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to Cost and Performance Optimization.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 fundamentals.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 scenario.
Practise SOA-C02 questions linked to SOA-C02 troubleshooting.
Practice this exam
Short sessions build daily habit. Longer sessions build exam-day stamina. Try a timed session to simulate real conditions.
FAQ
Security and Compliance — This question tests Security and Compliance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Any IAM user in the AWS account 123456789012 — The trust policy specifies `"AWS": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root"` as the principal, which allows any IAM user or role within the AWS account 123456789012 to assume the role, provided they have the necessary permissions in their own identity-based policies. This is because the root ARN of an account acts as a wildcard for all identities in that account. Option C correctly identifies that any IAM user in that account can assume the role.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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 →
Keep practising
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
This SOA-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 SOA-C02 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.