hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CV0-004 Practice Question: A company uses a multi-account AWS organization…
A company uses a multi-account AWS organization with separate accounts for development, testing, and production. A developer in the development account needs to access an S3 bucket in the production account to retrieve log files for troubleshooting. The developer has an IAM user in the development account with full S3 permissions, and the production account's S3 bucket policy includes a statement that grants access to the root user of the development account. However, when the developer attempts to access the bucket using AWS CLI with their IAM user credentials, they receive an 'Access Denied' error. The security team has verified that there are no explicit deny policies in either account, and that the bucket policy is correctly configured. The administrator has confirmed that the developer's IAM user has permissions to perform S3 operations. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of the access failure?
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
✓
The production account must have an IAM role with a trust policy that allows the development account to assume it.
Cross-account S3 access typically requires the developer to assume an IAM role in the production account with a trust policy allowing the development account. The bucket policy granting access to the root user of the development account does not automatically grant access to IAM users in that account; the users must assume the role to get temporary credentials. Adding the user to a group in the target account is not possible across accounts. Using root credentials is insecure. VPC peering addresses network connectivity, not IAM 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.
- ✗
The developer's IAM user needs to be added to an IAM group in the production account.
Why it's wrong here
IAM groups cannot contain users from other accounts; cross-account access requires roles.
- ✓
The production account must have an IAM role with a trust policy that allows the development account to assume it.
Why this is correct
An IAM role with a trust policy enables the developer to assume the role and access the bucket.
- ✗
A VPC peering connection must be established between the two accounts.
Why it's wrong here
VPC peering is for network connectivity, not for IAM-based S3 access.
- ✗
The developer should use the root user credentials of the development account to access the bucket.
Why it's wrong here
Root user credentials are insecure and should not be shared or used for routine tasks.
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 |
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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.