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If you can reach an S3 bucket from the office but your EC2 workload gets 403 Access Denied, the two requests may be arriving through different network paths. A bucket-policy condition that allows the office’s public egress IP can fail to match a server request sent through an S3 VPC endpoint. That is a plausible cause, not a diagnosis: compare the denied request with a successful one and inspect the policies governing both paths before changing access.

What an S3 403 tells you—and what it does not

An S3 HTTP 403 means the request was denied. That can happen because a policy explicitly denies the request, or because no applicable policy grants the required permission. A successful office request does not prove that a server role, a different API action, or a different object has permission.

Start with the exact failed action and resource. For example, s3:ListBucket applies to the bucket ARN, while s3:GetObject applies to an object ARN. A role that can list a bucket may not be able to read its objects, and permission to read one object does not establish permission to list the bucket. AWS’s S3 403 troubleshooting guide describes the policy and configuration layers that can cause access denials.

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Why the office can work while the server fails

The office and the workload may reach S3 through different routes. An office request may leave through a public egress IP that matches a bucket-policy condition. An EC2 workload may send its request through an S3 VPC endpoint, where that public source-IP condition does not represent the request in the same way.

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AWS specifically states that aws:SourceIp cannot be used in an identity-based policy or bucket policy for S3 requests traversing a VPC endpoint. For that route, review endpoint-aware condition keys and the VPC endpoint’s own policy. See AWS’s S3 access through VPC endpoints guidance and its VPC endpoint policy documentation.

This does not mean every server-side 403 is caused by aws:SourceIp. The actual policy, route, principal, action, resource, and denial context are needed to determine the cause.

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Compare the failed server request with a successful office request

Gather equivalent details for each request. A console login or one successful operation is not a substitute for checking the specific API call that failed.

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  • Caller: the IAM user, role, or assumed-role session making the request.
  • Action and resource: the API operation, bucket, and object ARN involved.
  • Network context: source IP and whether the request traversed an S3 VPC endpoint.
  • Time: the request timestamp, so you can correlate it with available logs.
  • Denial details: the complete error message and any enhanced access-denied context returned by S3.

In supported same-account or same-organization cases, enhanced 403 messages may identify the type of policy responsible and explain the denial. For an explicit denial, the message may also name the policy ARN. This context is not available for every account relationship or denial source, and some endpoint-policy denials have limits. Treat it as a useful clue, not a complete inventory of every policy involved. AWS documents these limits in its 403 troubleshooting guidance.

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Use CloudTrail or other available request logs to correlate the principal, action, resource, and time. Logs can help establish what request actually failed; they do not by themselves prove that a policy change is safe.

Check every policy layer that can affect the request

A bucket policy is only one part of S3 authorization. Review the policies and controls that apply to the server’s identity, the bucket, and the request path.

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  • Identity policy: confirm the workload’s IAM role allows the required action on the correct bucket or object resource.
  • Bucket policy: inspect both Allow and Deny statements, including conditions that depend on IP address, VPC, or endpoint.
  • VPC endpoint policy: verify that it permits the principal, action, and bucket resources the workload needs.
  • Organization controls: check applicable AWS Organizations service control policies and resource control policies.
  • S3-specific controls: check relevant ACLs, Block Public Access settings, encryption requirements, Object Lock, access points, and any CloudFront path involved.

An explicit deny takes precedence over an allow. In a same-account request, the applicable authorization policies still need to provide an allow, and no applicable explicit deny can block it. For cross-account access, the caller’s side and the resource owner’s side must both permit the request, with no applicable deny. Broad IAM permissions do not override a bucket-policy deny. AWS outlines these denial categories in its S3 403 troubleshooting guide and IAM policy evaluation logic.

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Choose a policy condition that matches the intended route

Make the policy express who should access which resources, for which actions, and through which intended paths. The suitable condition depends on your network design and security requirements.

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  • Public egress IP condition: can fit callers that reach S3 through a known public egress address. It may not fit server requests traversing an S3 VPC endpoint.
  • VPC or endpoint condition: can describe an endpoint-based route, but must match the actual endpoint and request context. Check the endpoint policy as well as the bucket policy.
  • Principal and action scope: identify the intended workload role and grant only the required actions on the required bucket and object resources, rather than relying on wildcard principals or broad action patterns.

These approaches are not interchangeable. Consider the effect on office users, server workloads, console access, and cross-account callers before changing a condition. AWS warns that restrictive policies can lock out access and may affect console use. Its bucket policy examples illustrate ways to scope principals and permissions; adapt them to the real request path rather than copying a condition without checking its effect.

Apply and verify the smallest safe change

  1. Keep an authorized recovery route. Before editing a restrictive policy, ensure an administrator can still restore access, and assess whether the change could affect console or other required callers.
  2. Change only the relevant statement. Match the intended role, action, resource, and network path. Avoid broadening access just to make the 403 disappear.
  3. Test both paths and the exact operation. Retry the failed server action with the affected role, then test the office route and other callers that must remain authorized.
  4. Recheck evidence. Compare the new error or success with the original request details and logs. Confirm that the intended caller succeeded without unintentionally allowing other principals or routes.

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