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200-201 Practice Question: Refer to the exhibit

Exhibit

Refer to the exhibit.

<syslog>
Mar  1 12:34:56 192.168.1.1 %ASA-4-106023: Deny tcp src inside:10.0.0.10/54321 dst outside:203.0.113.5/80 by access-group "OUTSIDE" [0x0, 0x0]
Mar  1 12:34:57 192.168.1.1 %ASA-4-106023: Deny tcp src inside:10.0.0.10/54322 dst outside:203.0.113.5/80 by access-group "OUTSIDE" [0x0, 0x0]
Mar  1 12:34:58 192.168.1.1 %ASA-4-106023: Deny tcp src inside:10.0.0.10/54323 dst outside:203.0.113.5/80 by access-group "OUTSIDE" [0x0, 0x0]
</syslog>

Refer to the exhibit. An analyst sees these syslog messages from the Cisco ASA. What is the most likely cause?

⚠ Common exam trap

Cisco often tests the ability to read syslog message fields (source vs. destination) to determine traffic direction, and the trap here is that candidates may misinterpret the deny as an attack from the external IP (option A) or as a scan (option D) without carefully parsing the source and destination addresses.

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

✓

An internal host (10.0.0.10) is attempting to access the Internet on port 80 and is being blocked.

The syslog messages show the Cisco ASA denying traffic from internal IP 10.0.0.10 to external destination 203.0.113.5 on TCP port 80. The ASA's access control list (ACL) is configured to block outbound HTTP traffic from this host, which is the most likely cause of the denial. The messages indicate a standard deny action, not a signature-based attack detection.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
An external host attempting to connect to an internal server.
Why it's wrong here
Source is inside (10.0.0.10), destination is outside.
✗
A denial-of-service attack from the external IP.
Why it's wrong here
The traffic is from inside to outside, not a DoS.
✓
An internal host (10.0.0.10) is attempting to access the Internet on port 80 and is being blocked.
Why this is correct
The deny messages indicate outbound traffic is blocked.
✗
An internal host is performing a port scan of the external server.
Why it's wrong here
Port scan would show different destination ports, not the same port.

Visual reference

Go deeper

200-201 Practice Question: Refer to the exhibit

Exhibit

Why each option matters

Option-by-option breakdown

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