PCNSE Practice Test 24 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are deploying a pair of PA-5250 firewalls in active/passive HA mode for a large enterprise. The firewalls are configured with multiple virtual routers (VRs) to segment traffic: VR-A for internal corporate network, VR-B for DMZ, and VR-C for Internet edge. Each VR is associated with a separate Vsys. The HA pair uses IPsec tunnel monitoring to determine failover. The customer reports that after a recent configuration change, failover does not occur when the primary firewall's Internet-facing interface (ethernet1/1) goes down. You verify that the primary firewall detects the interface failure, but the secondary does not take over. The HA configuration shows: 'monitor failure only' set to 'link-status', 'monitor hold time' 1000ms, 'promotion hold time' 2000ms, and 'monitor failure condition' is 'any'. The IPsec tunnel monitoring is configured for tunnel to a remote site. The path monitoring includes the Internet-facing interface under VR-C. What is the most likely reason for the failover failure?

Accepted Answer

The IPsec tunnel monitoring is configured, but it is not a valid HA monitoring method; only path, interface, and route monitoring are supported.. Option B is correct because IPsec tunnel monitoring is not a supported HA monitoring method on Palo Alto Networks firewalls. The supported methods are path monitoring, interface monitoring, and route monitoring. Since the configuration relies on IPsec tunnel monitoring to trigger failover, the secondary firewall will not take over when the primary's interface goes down, regardless of other settings.

Answer

The use of multiple virtual routers prevents HA from monitoring interfaces across VRs.

Answer

The 'monitor hold time' is too short, causing flapping to be ignored.

Answer

The 'monitor failure only' is set to 'link-status' instead of 'path-monitoring'.

Question 2

A network administrator wants to allow only specific applications such as 'facebook-base' and 'youtube' while blocking all other applications. Which type of security rule should be used to achieve this?

Accepted Answer

Create a security rule with application conditions set to 'facebook-base' and 'youtube' and action set to 'allow'.. Option A is correct because App-ID allows you to create a security rule that explicitly allows only the specified applications ('facebook-base' and 'youtube') while implicitly denying all other traffic. Since the default action for any traffic not matching an allow rule is 'deny', this rule achieves the goal of blocking all other applications without needing an explicit block rule.

Answer

Create a security rule with destination port 80 and 443 and action set to 'allow'.

Answer

Create a security profile that blocks all applications not in the allow list.

Answer

Create a URL filtering rule to allow 'social-networking' and 'multimedia' categories.

Question 3

A security engineer notices that traffic from a trusted internal application is being blocked by the firewall. The application communicates using a proprietary protocol over TCP port 8443. The engineer has already created a custom App-ID for this application but the traffic is still being blocked. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

An application override rule must be configured to associate the custom App-ID with the traffic.. Option D is correct because when a custom App-ID is created for a proprietary protocol, the firewall cannot automatically identify the application by inspecting the traffic. An application override rule is required to explicitly map the traffic (based on IP, port, or other criteria) to the custom App-ID, bypassing the firewall's default App-ID identification process. Without this override, the firewall continues to apply its default classification, which may block the traffic if it doesn't match any known application.

Answer

The custom App-ID must be added to a security profile group.

Answer

The custom App-ID needs a vulnerability profile to be activated.

Answer

The security policy rule uses the destination port instead of App-ID.

Question 4

A company deploys a Palo Alto Networks firewall in a data center. They have a critical application that uses a proprietary protocol over UDP port 12345. The firewall is not correctly identifying the traffic as the custom App-ID they created. They have verified that the custom App-ID is correctly configured and committed. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

An application override rule has not been configured to associate the traffic with the custom App-ID.. The custom App-ID is correctly configured and committed, but the firewall still does not identify the traffic because App-IDs are based on application signatures and behavioral analysis. For a proprietary protocol over UDP, the firewall may not have a signature to match it, so an application override rule is required to explicitly associate the traffic (based on IP, port, or protocol) with the custom App-ID. Without this override, the firewall will continue to treat the traffic as unknown or attempt to match it against built-in App-IDs.

Answer

The firewall must be rebooted for the custom App-ID to take effect.

Answer

The custom App-ID must be enabled in the 'Applications' section of the firewall settings.

Answer

The firewall cannot identify applications over UDP.

Question 5

A large enterprise with 10,000+ users is deploying GlobalProtect with SAML authentication. The IdP is Azure AD. Users report that authentication sometimes fails during peak hours with error 'SAML response timeout'. Which design change would most effectively address this issue?

Accepted Answer

Increase the SAML authentication timeout to 120 seconds. Option D is correct because increasing the SAML authentication timeout to 120 seconds accommodates delays in Azure AD response generation during peak loads. The default timeout (often 60 seconds) may be insufficient when the IdP is under heavy demand, causing the firewall to abort the SAML exchange prematurely. Extending the timeout allows the IdP more time to complete the assertion, reducing timeout errors without altering the authentication method.

Answer

Implement a secondary IdP as a fallback

Answer

Reduce the SAML authentication timeout to 30 seconds to force faster responses

Answer

Switch to certificate-based authentication instead of SAML

Question 6

A firewall is deployed in an Active/Passive HA pair. The administrator notices that the passive firewall is not synchronizing configuration changes. The 'show high-availability state' command shows the passive firewall in a 'non-functional' state. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The passive firewall is running a different PAN-OS version. The passive firewall showing a 'non-functional' state in an Active/Passive HA pair most likely indicates a version mismatch. PAN-OS requires both firewalls in an HA pair to run the exact same software version for configuration synchronization to work. If the passive firewall is running a different PAN-OS version, it cannot properly interpret or apply the configuration from the active firewall, causing it to enter a non-functional state.

Answer

The HA2 link is down but HA1 is up

Answer

The session sync is disabled

Answer

The passive firewall has link monitoring enabled

Question 7

A company has a firewall with multiple virtual systems (vsys). The administrator wants to delegate management of one vsys to a junior administrator, allowing them to configure security policies but not access system settings or other vsys. Which administrative role should be assigned?

Accepted Answer

Virtual System Admin. A Virtual System Admin role is specifically designed to delegate administrative access to a single virtual system (vsys) within a Palo Alto Networks firewall. This role allows the junior administrator to configure security policies and objects within their assigned vsys, while explicitly preventing access to system settings, device-level configurations, or other virtual systems. This matches the requirement exactly.

Answer

Superuser

Answer

Device Admin

Answer

Role-Based Admin

Question 8

Refer to the exhibit. The firewall is experiencing high dataplane CPU usage (85%) with 45,000 active sessions out of a maximum of 100,000. Which of the following is the most likely cause of the high CPU?

Accepted Answer

SSL decryption is enabled and processing many sessions. SSL decryption is a highly CPU-intensive operation because it requires the firewall to terminate and re-encrypt TLS connections, performing asymmetric and symmetric cryptographic operations for each session. With 45,000 active sessions, even if the session count is below the 100,000 limit, the per-session processing overhead of SSL decryption can drive dataplane CPU to 85%.

Answer

The firewall is reaching its maximum session limit

Answer

The firewall is under a DDoS attack

Answer

There is a high rate of UDP sessions

Question 9

Which TWO of the following are valid methods to upgrade the PAN-OS software on a firewall? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Download from the Palo Alto Networks support site and install via the web interface. Option B is correct because the PAN-OS web interface provides a built-in method to upload and install software images downloaded from the Palo Alto Networks support site. This is a standard, supported upgrade path that uses HTTPS to transfer the image to the firewall.

Answer

Insert a USB drive with the image into the firewall's USB port

Answer

Use FTP to transfer the image to the firewall

Answer

Email the image to the firewall's email-to-PAN-OS feature

Question 10

Refer to the exhibit. The firewall is active in an HA pair, but the peer is non-functional. The HA2 link is down. What is the most likely cause of the peer being non-functional?

Accepted Answer

The peer firewall is running a different PAN-OS version. Option C is correct because when an HA pair detects a version mismatch between peers, the firewall with the higher PAN-OS version will not form an active/passive HA state and will remain non-functional (or in a 'non-functional' state) to prevent configuration or session incompatibilities. The HA2 link being down is a separate issue that affects session synchronization but does not cause the peer to be completely non-functional; the peer can still operate with reduced HA capabilities. A version mismatch is a critical condition that prevents HA peering entirely, leading to one peer appearing non-functional.

Answer

The HA3 link is down

Answer

The HA2 link is down, preventing session synchronization

Answer

The HA1 link is down

Question 11

Which Panorama deployment mode allows centralized management of firewalls while storing logs locally on each firewall instead of sending them to the Panorama log collector?

Accepted Answer

Panorama without Log Collectors. Panorama without Log Collectors is the correct deployment mode because it allows centralized management of firewalls while keeping logs stored locally on each firewall. In this mode, Panorama handles only configuration and policy management, and log collection is disabled, so no logs are forwarded to Panorama. This is ideal for environments where log retention must remain on the firewall due to compliance or bandwidth constraints.

Answer

Panorama with Dedicated Log Collectors

Answer

Panorama with Log Collectors

Answer

Panorama in High Availability mode

Question 12

An administrator configures a GlobalProtect portal with an authentication profile that uses Kerberos. Users report they cannot connect from remote locations. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The remote users' computers are not domain-joined.. Kerberos authentication relies on the client being a member of the Active Directory domain to obtain a ticket-granting ticket (TGT) from the Key Distribution Center (KDC). Remote users whose computers are not domain-joined cannot acquire or present Kerberos tickets, causing authentication to fail. This is the most common reason for connection failures when Kerberos is used for GlobalProtect portal authentication.

Answer

The external gateway is not configured for Kerberos authentication.

Answer

The authentication profile is not configured on the gateway.

Answer

The GlobalProtect gateway certificate is not trusted by the client.

Question 13

A company is deploying GlobalProtect with internal gateways. They want to ensure that users who are inside the corporate network connect directly to internal resources without going through the firewall. Which configuration is required?

Accepted Answer

Set the portal's 'Internal Host Detection' to detect the internal network and set 'Gateway' to 'None' for the internal network.. Option D is correct because GlobalProtect's Internal Host Detection (IHD) feature allows the portal to detect whether a user is inside the corporate network. When the portal detects the user is internal, it can be configured to assign 'None' as the gateway, meaning the client will not establish a VPN tunnel and will connect directly to internal resources. This ensures traffic does not hairpin through the firewall.

Answer

Configure the portal to assign the gateway only when the user is external.

Answer

Set the gateway's 'Tunnel Mode' to 'No' for internal users.

Answer

Configure the gateway agent with internal host detection.

Question 14

A firewall is configured with a GlobalProtect gateway that uses an IPSec tunnel. Remote users can connect but cannot access any resources. The administrator verifies that the tunnel is established and the client receives an IP address. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The firewall does not have a route to the virtual IP pool.. When a GlobalProtect gateway uses an IPSec tunnel, the client receives an IP address from a virtual IP pool assigned to the tunnel interface. If the firewall lacks a route to that virtual IP pool, return traffic from internal resources cannot reach the client, even though the tunnel is established and the client has an IP. This is a common misconfiguration because the tunnel interface itself does not automatically inject a route for the pool into the virtual router.

Answer

The tunnel interface is not in a virtual router.

Answer

The security policy does not allow traffic from the VPN zone.

Answer

The IP pool for the VPN client is exhausted.

Question 15

A company configures site-to-site VPN between two Palo Alto Networks firewalls using IKEv2. The tunnel does not come up. The administrator checks the IKE gateway configuration on both sides and sees matching pre-shared keys, IKE version, and encryption algorithms. What is the most likely remaining issue?

Accepted Answer

The local and peer IP addresses are swapped on one side.. Option C is correct because if the local and peer IP addresses are swapped on one side, the IKE gateway configuration will not match the expected endpoints. IKEv2 requires that each side's local address corresponds to the other side's peer address; a mismatch prevents the initial IKE_SA_INIT exchange from completing, as the firewalls will not recognize each other as valid peers despite matching pre-shared keys and algorithms.

Answer

The tunnel interface is not assigned to a security zone.

Answer

Dead peer detection (DPD) is not configured.

Answer

The MTU on the WAN interface is set too low.