350-701 Network Security Practice Question
An engineer configures a Cisco ASA firewall with three interfaces: inside (security level 100), outside (security level 0), and DMZ (security level 50). Traffic from the inside network to the DMZ network is sourced from 10.1.1.0/24 and destined to 192.168.1.0/24. The inside interface is configured with IP 10.1.1.1, DMZ interface with IP 192.168.1.1. An ACL on the inside interface permits IP traffic from 10.1.1.0/24 to 192.168.1.0/24. What happens when a packet from 10.1.1.10 to 192.168.1.10 arrives at the inside interface?
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 packet is forwarded because the security levels allow traffic from higher to lower, and an ACL permits it.
The ASA allows traffic from higher to lower security levels by default, but only if an ACL permits it. Since the inside level (100) is higher than DMZ (50), and the ACL permits the traffic, the packet is forwarded.
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 packet is forwarded because the security levels allow traffic from higher to lower, and an ACL permits it.
Why this is correct
Correct. Higher to lower is allowed by default, and the ACL explicitly permits the traffic.
- ✗
The packet is dropped because no ACL is applied to the DMZ interface.
Why it's wrong here
The ACL is applied to the inside interface, which is sufficient for inbound traffic.
- ✗
The packet is dropped because traffic from higher to lower security levels is implicitly denied.
Why it's wrong here
Traffic from higher to lower is implicitly allowed; only lower to higher is implicitly denied.
- ✗
The packet is forwarded only if a NAT rule exists for the source address.
Why it's wrong here
NAT is not required for traffic from inside to DMZ unless the destination expects a translated address.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 350-701 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco 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 350-701 exam.