350-701 Practice Question: Secure Network Access, Visibility and Enforcement
This 350-701 practice question tests your understanding of secure network access, visibility and enforcement. Examine the command output carefully: the correct answer depends on what the output actually shows, not on general recall alone. 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.
A company has deployed Cisco ISE for network access control. After a recent upgrade, the operations team notices that some users are being assigned incorrect authorization profiles. The ISE logs show that the users are being matched to the correct identity group, but the authorization result is different from expected. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The authorization policy rules are not in the correct order, causing a different rule to match first.
In Cisco ISE, authorization policies are evaluated in top-down order, and the first matching rule is applied. Even if users are correctly assigned to an identity group, a higher-priority authorization policy rule that matches on other conditions (e.g., endpoint profile, device type, or time condition) can override the expected result. This is the most likely cause when authentication and group assignment are correct but the authorization result is unexpected.
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 passive identity feature is overriding the user's group assignment.
Why it's wrong here
Passive identity does not override group assignment.
✓
The authorization policy rules are not in the correct order, causing a different rule to match first.
Why this is correct
ISE uses first-match logic for authorization policies.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
The network device group assignment has changed, causing the device to be in a different group.
Why it's wrong here
Network device groups affect which policies apply, but not the matching order.
✗
The authentication policy is misconfigured, causing users to be placed in the wrong identity group.
Why it's wrong here
The logs show users are in the correct identity group.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the concept that authorization policies are evaluated in order of precedence, and candidates mistakenly focus on authentication or group assignment when the real issue is rule ordering in the authorization policy.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
The logs show users are in the correct identity group.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cisco ISE authorization policies use a first-match logic similar to access control lists (ACLs). Each rule can include conditions based on identity groups, endpoint attributes, device type, location, time, and more. A common misconfiguration is placing a more general rule (e.g., 'Any' or 'Default') above a specific rule, causing the general rule to match first. In real-world deployments, after an upgrade, rule order may be inadvertently altered or new default rules may be inserted, leading to unexpected authorization results.
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 junior network technician can log in to a core router but cannot reach the enable prompt or configuration mode. The AAA server is authenticating the login — but the authorisation policy only grants privilege level 1, not 15. Authentication (who you are) is working; authorisation (what you can do) is not.
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.
Secure Network Access, Visibility and Enforcement — This question tests Secure Network Access, Visibility and Enforcement — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The authorization policy rules are not in the correct order, causing a different rule to match first. — In Cisco ISE, authorization policies are evaluated in top-down order, and the first matching rule is applied. Even if users are correctly assigned to an identity group, a higher-priority authorization policy rule that matches on other conditions (e.g., endpoint profile, device type, or time condition) can override the expected result. This is the most likely cause when authentication and group assignment are correct but the authorization result is unexpected.
What should I do if I get this 350-701 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: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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