Question 250 of 1,170

Manage Azure Identities and Governance →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Quick Answer

The answer is that the developer’s Contributor assignment at the RG-Apps resource group scope overrides the inherited Reader from the subscription, while RG-Shared only inherits the subscription-level Reader. This happens because RBAC inheritance in Azure flows downward from higher scopes like subscriptions to lower scopes like resource groups, but a direct role assignment at a lower scope takes precedence over inherited permissions for that specific scope. On the AZ-104 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how resource group scope overrides subscription when a direct assignment exists, and the common trap is assuming that all resources under a subscription share the same effective permissions. Remember that inherited roles are additive, not exclusive—a direct assignment at a resource group simply replaces the inherited role for that group only. A useful memory tip is “direct beats inherited at the same level,” meaning a role placed directly on a resource group will always win over a role inherited from above for that group’s resources.

AZ-104 Manage Azure Identities and Governance Practice Question

This AZ-104 practice question tests your understanding of manage azure identities and governance. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

An administrator assigns Contributor at the RG-Apps resource group scope and Reader at the subscription scope. A developer opens a VM inside RG-Apps and can change its settings, but a different VM in RG-Shared is read-only. Which statement best explains this behavior?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

Question 1mediummultiple choice

Full question →

A
The VM in RG-Apps has a direct Contributor assignment that does not apply elsewhere.
Why wrong: The scenario describes a resource-group assignment, not a separate direct assignment on the VM.
B
The VM in RG-Apps inherited Contributor from the resource group, while RG-Shared only inherits Reader.
Permissions flow from the resource group to its resources. Contributor at RG-Apps applies to all resources there, while the subscription-level Reader remains inherited everywhere.
C
Reader always overrides Contributor when both roles exist in the same subscription.
Why wrong: RBAC permissions are cumulative, not overridden by a lower role such as Reader.
D
Azure Policy is granting write access only inside RG-Apps because the subscription has no policy.
Why wrong: Azure Policy does not grant permissions. It evaluates compliance and can deny or deploy settings, but not RBAC access.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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 VM in RG-Apps inherited Contributor from the resource group, while RG-Shared only inherits Reader.

Role assignments in Azure are inherited from higher scopes (subscription, management group) down to lower scopes (resource group, resource). The developer has Reader at the subscription scope, which is inherited by all resource groups, including RG-Shared. However, the Contributor assignment at the RG-Apps resource group scope overrides the inherited Reader for that specific resource group, granting write access to VMs within RG-Apps. RG-Shared has no direct role assignment, so it only inherits the subscription-level Reader, making its VMs read-only.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

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 VM in RG-Apps has a direct Contributor assignment that does not apply elsewhere.
Why it's wrong here
The scenario describes a resource-group assignment, not a separate direct assignment on the VM.
✓
The VM in RG-Apps inherited Contributor from the resource group, while RG-Shared only inherits Reader.
Why this is correct
Permissions flow from the resource group to its resources. Contributor at RG-Apps applies to all resources there, while the subscription-level Reader remains inherited everywhere.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Reader always overrides Contributor when both roles exist in the same subscription.
Why it's wrong here
RBAC permissions are cumulative, not overridden by a lower role such as Reader.
✗
Azure Policy is granting write access only inside RG-Apps because the subscription has no policy.
Why it's wrong here
Azure Policy does not grant permissions. It evaluates compliance and can deny or deploy settings, but not RBAC access.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates often confuse inheritance with direct assignments, thinking that a role at a higher scope (subscription) always overrides a role at a lower scope (resource group), when in fact RBAC combines permissions additively and the most permissive role at the most specific scope wins.

Trap categories for this question

Scenario analysis trap
The scenario describes a resource-group assignment, not a separate direct assignment on the VM.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Azure RBAC uses an additive model where permissions are the union of all role assignments at the effective scope. The effective scope is the most specific scope where a role is assigned, and inheritance flows from higher scopes (subscription) to lower scopes (resource group, resource). In this case, the developer's effective permissions for RG-Apps are Contributor (from the resource group assignment) plus any inherited Reader permissions, resulting in write access; for RG-Shared, only the inherited Reader applies. A common real-world scenario is troubleshooting why a user can modify resources in one resource group but not another, often due to missing direct role assignments at the resource group level.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this AZ-104 question test?

Manage Azure Identities and Governance — This question tests Manage Azure Identities and Governance — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: The VM in RG-Apps inherited Contributor from the resource group, while RG-Shared only inherits Reader. — Role assignments in Azure are inherited from higher scopes (subscription, management group) down to lower scopes (resource group, resource). The developer has Reader at the subscription scope, which is inherited by all resource groups, including RG-Shared. However, the Contributor assignment at the RG-Apps resource group scope overrides the inherited Reader for that specific resource group, granting write access to VMs within RG-Apps. RG-Shared has no direct role assignment, so it only inherits the subscription-level Reader, making its VMs read-only.

What should I do if I get this AZ-104 question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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