A cloud administrator is troubleshooting a connectivity issue between a web server and a database server in the same VPC but different subnets. The security group for the database server allows inbound traffic from the web server's security group. However, the web server cannot establish a TCP connection to the database. What are two possible causes? (Choose two.)
The outbound NACL on the web server subnet may block the connection request.
Why this answer
Network ACLs are stateless and apply to subnet boundaries. Even if the web server's security group allows outbound traffic, the subnet's network ACL must explicitly allow outbound traffic to the database server's IP and port. If the outbound rule is missing or denies the traffic, the TCP SYN packet will be dropped before it leaves the subnet.
Option C is correct because the database subnet's network ACL must allow inbound traffic from the web server's IP and port; if it blocks the inbound SYN, the connection cannot be established.
Exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often assume security groups are the only firewall layer, forgetting that network ACLs at the subnet level can override security group rules, especially when they are stateless and require explicit rules for both directions.