DEA-C02 Data Transformation Practice Question
You are debugging a transformation pipeline where a task is failing with an 'Insufficient Privileges' error during a MERGE operation. The task is owned by a service account role. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often mistakenly check warehouse usage privileges when a task fails during a DML execution, overlooking object-level DML grants required on the target table.
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 task owner lacks the required DML privileges on the target table being merged into.
Tasks execute with the privileges of their owner. If the owner role lacks USAGE on the database, schema, or warehouse, or lacks the required DML permissions (INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE) on the target table, the task will fail. This is a common security best practice in Snowflake to ensure the principle of least privilege, requiring careful validation of all object-level permissions during the deployment phase.
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 task owner does not have the EXECUTE TASK privilege on the current schema.
Why it's wrong here
The EXECUTE TASK privilege is necessary to manage or trigger tasks, but it is not the primary cause of a failure during the DML execution phase. The DML failure is strictly tied to the object-level permissions required for the MERGE operation itself.
- ✓
The task owner lacks the required DML privileges on the target table being merged into.
Why this is correct
A task executes with the permissions of its owner. If the owner role does not have the necessary INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE permissions on the target table, the MERGE operation will fail during execution. This is a standard security constraint enforced by Snowflake.
- ✗
The warehouse used by the task is currently suspended by another process.
Why it's wrong here
If a warehouse is suspended, Snowflake automatically resumes it when a task is triggered. It would not cause an 'Insufficient Privileges' error. Suspension only causes delays in startup, not security-related permission denials during the execution of the SQL statement.
- ✗
The task is missing a dependency definition for the source table.
Why it's wrong here
Task dependencies determine the execution order in a graph, not the permissions to perform DML on specific objects. A missing dependency would prevent the task from starting at the correct time, not cause a security-related privilege error during the data modification.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every DEA-C02 question from scratch — 229 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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 Snowflake exam blueprint
This DEA-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Snowflake 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 DEA-C02 exam.