PCNSA Practice Test 9 — 10 Questions

Question 1

A company wants to block file uploads of PDFs to the internet via HTTP. Which Content-ID profile should be configured?

Accepted Answer

File Blocking Profile. The File Blocking Profile is specifically designed to block file transfers based on file type, such as PDF, over protocols like HTTP. This profile uses Content-ID to inspect the file content and enforce blocking policies for uploads or downloads, making it the appropriate choice to prevent PDF uploads to the internet.

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Vulnerability Protection Profile

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URL Filtering Profile

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Virus Profile

Question 2

A user reports that they are unable to download executable files from the internet. The firewall security rule allows the application. What should the administrator check first?

Accepted Answer

The file blocking profile for the rule.. The user cannot download executable files, which is a specific file type. The file blocking profile is the Content-ID feature that controls file transfer based on type, regardless of the application being allowed. Since the security rule permits the application, the administrator should first check the file blocking profile attached to that rule to see if it blocks 'executable' files.

Answer

The SSL decryption policy.

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The vulnerability protection profile.

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The URL filtering category for 'executables'.

Question 3

An organization uses a custom ERP system that communicates over TCP port 4444. The firewall's App-ID incorrectly identifies some of the traffic as 'ssl' because the ERP system uses a proprietary encryption wrapper. What is the recommended approach to ensure correct identification?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom App-ID that matches the proprietary encryption wrapper signature.. When App-ID misclassifies traffic due to a proprietary encryption wrapper, the recommended approach is to create a custom App-ID that matches the specific signature of that wrapper. This allows the firewall to correctly identify the application without relying on port-based heuristics or decryption, preserving the integrity of the encrypted session while ensuring accurate policy enforcement.

Answer

Use Application Override to force the ERP application for all traffic on port 4444.

Answer

Enable SSL decryption to inspect the encrypted traffic.

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Add a security rule that allows the ERP application object without further configuration.

Question 4

Which TWO are required for accurate application identification when an application uses non-standard ports?

Accepted Answer

Enable App-ID.. App-ID is the core technology that identifies applications regardless of port, using signatures, protocol decoders, and behavioral analysis. When an application uses non-standard ports, App-ID must be enabled to inspect traffic beyond simple port-based classification, ensuring accurate identification even if the application is not using its default port.

Answer

Define a custom service for the port.

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Use a Content-ID profile.

Answer

Disable SSL Decryption.

Question 5

Which of the following is a prerequisite for App-ID to identify applications in encrypted traffic?

Accepted Answer

Enable SSL decryption.. App-ID identifies applications by analyzing traffic patterns, including those in encrypted flows. However, to inspect the content of encrypted traffic (e.g., HTTPS), the firewall must first decrypt it using SSL decryption. Without decryption, App-ID can only rely on metadata like IP addresses and ports, which is insufficient for accurate identification of many modern applications that use encryption.

Answer

Configure a custom application signature.

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Ensure the security rule allows the application.

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Enable App-ID on the security rule.

Question 6

Refer to the exhibit. What is the status of the commit job?

Accepted Answer

Pending. The commit job status is 'Pending' because the commit operation has been initiated but not yet completed. In Palo Alto Networks firewalls, when a commit is in progress, the job status shows as 'Pending' until the configuration is successfully applied or an error occurs. The exhibit likely shows a commit job with a status of 'Pending', indicating that the system is still processing the configuration changes.

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Completed

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Canceled

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Failed

Question 7

A company has two PA-220 firewalls in active/passive HA. They want to ensure that if the active firewall loses internet connectivity but its management interface remains up, a failover occurs. Which monitoring method should be configured?

Accepted Answer

Path monitoring.. Path monitoring is the correct method because it monitors the dataplane connectivity to specific destination IP addresses (e.g., the internet gateway) and triggers a failover when those paths become unreachable, even if the management interface remains up. This ensures that the active firewall fails over based on actual data traffic path health, not just link or management status.

Answer

Heartbeat backup.

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Session replication.

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Link monitoring on all interfaces.

Question 8

A security administrator wants to inspect decrypted traffic for threats. What is the minimum set of features required?

Accepted Answer

SSL Decryption and Threat Prevention. To inspect decrypted traffic for threats, you must first decrypt the traffic using SSL Decryption, which terminates the SSL/TLS session and allows the firewall to examine the plaintext payload. Then, Threat Prevention (which includes IPS, antivirus, and anti-spyware signatures) can analyze that decrypted content for malicious patterns. Without SSL Decryption, Threat Prevention only sees encrypted traffic and cannot inspect the payload; without Threat Prevention, SSL Decryption alone provides no threat detection. Therefore, both features are required.

Answer

Threat Prevention only

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SSL Decryption only

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SSL Decryption and URL Filtering

Question 9

A network administrator wants to monitor HTTPS traffic without decrypting it, but still wants to identify the applications being used. Which feature can be used to identify HTTPS applications without decryption?

Accepted Answer

App-ID with SSL protocol detection. App-ID with SSL protocol detection allows the firewall to identify HTTPS applications by inspecting the Server Name Indication (SNI) field in the TLS handshake and the certificate common name, without decrypting the traffic. This enables application identification while preserving encryption, meeting the requirement to monitor HTTPS traffic without decryption.

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SSL Decryption Mirror

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SSL Forward Proxy

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URL Filtering

Question 10

A decryption policy is configured to decrypt traffic to a specific external server. The admin notices that the traffic is not being decrypted. What is the first step in troubleshooting?

Accepted Answer

Check the traffic log to see if the policy is matched. The first step in troubleshooting a decryption policy that is not decrypting traffic is to check the traffic log to confirm whether the policy is actually being matched. If the traffic does not match the decryption rule, no decryption will occur regardless of certificate validity or other settings. This aligns with the systematic troubleshooting approach of verifying policy application before investigating deeper configuration issues.

Answer

Verify that the decryption certificate is valid

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Disable the SSL/TLS service profile

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Ensure that the server's certificate is imported