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CCSP Cloud Application Security Practice Question

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

```
{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": {
        "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/MyAppRole"
      },
      "Action": "s3:GetObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/*"
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": "s3:PutObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/uploads/*"
    }
  ]
}
```

Refer to the exhibit. A security analyst reviews the S3 bucket policy shown. Which security issue should be flagged?

⚠ Common exam trap

ISC2 often tests the distinction between read and write permissions in S3 bucket policies, and the trap here is that candidates focus on the read access being restricted (Option A) or missing encryption (Option B) while overlooking the glaring unauthenticated write access.

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 policy allows unauthenticated write access to the bucket

The S3 bucket policy contains a Principal element set to "*" with an Effect of "Allow" on the s3:PutObject action, which grants unauthenticated write access to the bucket. This means anyone on the internet can upload objects without any authentication, leading to potential data corruption, storage cost abuse, or malware hosting. The policy does not include any condition (e.g., aws:SourceIp or aws:SecureTransport) to restrict the write operation, making it a critical security misconfiguration.

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 policy restricts read access to a specific role, which is too permissive
Why it's wrong here
Restricting read access to a specific role is appropriate.
✗
The policy does not enable server-side encryption
Why it's wrong here
Server-side encryption is not configured in the policy, but this is not a security issue with the policy itself.
✓
The policy allows unauthenticated write access to the bucket
Why this is correct
The second statement allows any principal to put objects, which is a security risk.
✗
The policy contains a syntax error in the JSON
Why it's wrong here
The JSON is syntactically correct.

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

Go deeper

CCSP Cloud Application Security Practice Question

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison

Related to this question