CV0-004 Security Practice Question
A cloud security team is implementing a secrets management solution for applications running on AWS. They need to automatically rotate database credentials every 30 days and avoid hardcoding secrets. Which service should they use?
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
✓
AWS Secrets Manager
AWS Secrets Manager allows automatic rotation of secrets (e.g., database credentials) and integration with AWS services. Parameter Store can store secrets but does not natively support automatic rotation. KMS is for encryption keys. IAM roles are for AWS service permissions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles
Why it's wrong here
IAM roles grant temporary credentials to AWS services and workloads, but they cannot store or rotate database passwords for an external engine. It is tempting because roles eliminate hardcoded keys, and would be correct for granting an EC2 instance access to AWS APIs without embedding long-term credentials.
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AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
Why it's wrong here
KMS manages encryption keys and performs cryptographic operations; it does not store database credentials or rotate them on a schedule. It is tempting because KMS underpins encryption for many secrets services, and would be correct when you need to create, control, and audit the keys encrypting data at rest.
- ✓
AWS Secrets Manager
Why this is correct
AWS Secrets Manager natively performs scheduled rotation of database credentials via Lambda rotation functions, satisfying the 30-day rotation requirement, and applications retrieve secrets through API calls at runtime rather than embedding them in code, eliminating hardcoded credentials.
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AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store
Why it's wrong here
Parameter Store holds configuration values and secrets but its native rotation requires custom Lambda automation, so it does not deliver the 30-day rotation requirement directly. It is tempting because it stores secrets securely, and would be correct for static configuration parameters or secrets where rotation is handled externally.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CV0-004 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CV0-004 exam.