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CAS-004 Practice Question: The security engineer notices that SSH login…
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. show security policies Policy Name: Web-Server-Access Source Zone: untrust Dest Zone: dmz Source Address: any Dest Address: 10.1.1.100 Application: http, https Action: permit Log: session-init Policy Name: Remote-Admin Source Zone: vpn Dest Zone: mgmt Source Address: 10.2.2.0/24 Dest Address: 192.168.1.1 Application: ssh, https Action: permit Log: session-close
The security engineer notices that SSH login attempts to 192.168.1.1 from the untrust zone are being blocked. Which policy misconfiguration is MOST likely causing this?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common misconception is that a correct destination address or application is sufficient for traffic to pass, when in fact the source zone must be explicitly permitted in the firewall policy.
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 source zone is not permitted
The security engineer observes SSH login attempts from the untrust zone to 192.168.1.1 being blocked. In a typical firewall policy, the source zone must be explicitly permitted for traffic to be allowed. If the source zone 'untrust' is not included in the policy's source zone list, the firewall will drop the traffic regardless of other correct parameters. This is the most likely misconfiguration because SSH traffic from the untrust zone is reaching the destination but being denied at the policy level.
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 application is incorrect
Why it's wrong here
An incorrect application object would fail to match SSH, but the stem specifies SSH attempts are blocked, implying the policy matches SSH yet denies it. Application identification would be the correct focus when non-standard ports or App-ID overrides cause legitimate traffic to be dropped.
- ✓
The source zone is not permitted
Why this is correct
Security policy evaluates traffic by source and destination zone pair. If the untrust zone is absent from the permitted source zones on the rule matching 192.168.1.1, SSH traffic is dropped before any service or application check occurs.
- ✗
The log setting prevents connections
Why it's wrong here
Log settings only record or discard session data; they cannot deny a connection, so they cannot cause the block. It is tempting because logging is configured alongside security rules, and it would be the correct cause when sessions succeed but no traffic logs appear for auditing.
- ✗
The destination address is incorrect
Why it's wrong here
A wrong destination address would block traffic to a different host, not 192.168.1.1, so SSH attempts would never reach the intended server. It is tempting because address objects are common misconfigurations, and it would be correct if the policy targeted the wrong subnet or host object.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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