Databricks-DE-Assoc Databricks Intelligence Platform Practice Question
Exhibit
Error: [UNAUTHORIZED_ACCESS] User does not have sufficient privileges to perform this operation. Required privilege: 'USE CATALOG' on catalog 'main'.
Refer to the exhibit. A data engineer encounters this error while trying to list tables in a schema. Based on the error, what must the engineer do to resolve it?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often try to grant access to the table or schema first. They overlook that Unity Catalog requires 'USE CATALOG' permission at the root level before any sub-objects can be accessed.
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
✓
Grant 'USE CATALOG' privilege on the catalog to the user.
The error indicates that the user lacks the 'USE CATALOG' privilege, which is the foundational permission required to even browse objects within a specific catalog in Unity Catalog. This is a critical concept because Unity Catalog enforces a hierarchical security model where access must be granted from the root down to the table level, ensuring that users cannot bypass organizational security boundaries by guessing table names or paths.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Grant 'SELECT' privilege on the table to the user.
Why it's wrong here
Even if the user has 'SELECT' access on a table, they cannot access it if they do not have the 'USE CATALOG' and 'USE SCHEMA' privileges on the parent containers. Security in Unity Catalog is checked hierarchically, and access to the container is required before individual object access is validated.
- ✓
Grant 'USE CATALOG' privilege on the catalog to the user.
Why this is correct
In Unity Catalog, users need the 'USE CATALOG' privilege on the catalog and 'USE SCHEMA' on the schema to navigate the object hierarchy. Without these permissions, the user is effectively blind to the objects contained within those structures, regardless of any table-level permissions they might have been granted previously.
- ✗
Increase the cluster's worker node count.
Why it's wrong here
This error is related to permission and access control, not compute resource availability. Scaling the cluster will not resolve authorization issues; instead, it will only increase the costs associated with the compute while the underlying security violation remains unresolved, as the authorization check occurs at the platform's governance layer.
- ✗
Upgrade the workspace to the Premium tier.
Why it's wrong here
Unity Catalog access issues are caused by insufficient configuration of the security model within the platform, not by the pricing tier of the workspace. Upgrading the workspace will not grant the necessary privileges; the administrator must manually assign the correct authorization to the user within the Unity Catalog interface.
Visual reference
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Databricks exam blueprint
This Databricks-DE-Assoc practice question is part of Courseiva's free Databricks 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 Databricks-DE-Assoc exam.