hardMultiple Choice
XK0-006 Practice Question: Refer to the exhibit
Exhibit
User reports: "I can't access the web server at https://example.com from my office network." From the user's workstation: $ nslookup example.com Server: 192.168.1.1 Address: 192.168.1.1#53 Non-authoritative answer: Name: example.com Address: 10.0.0.5 From another host on the same subnet: $ curl -I https://example.com HTTP/2 200 From the user's workstation: $ curl -I https://example.com curl: (7) Failed to connect to example.com port 443: Connection refused $ iptables -L -n -v Chain INPUT (policy ACCEPT 0 packets, 0 bytes) Chain FORWARD (policy ACCEPT 0 packets, 0 bytes) Chain OUTPUT (policy ACCEPT 0 packets, 0 bytes)
Refer to the exhibit. A user cannot access a web server, but another host on the same subnet can. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
XK0-006 often tests the misconception that network-wide issues (router, server, DNS) are the cause when the problem is isolated to a single host, leading candidates to overlook local workstation configurations like firewalls.
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 user's workstation has a local firewall blocking outbound HTTPS.
Since another host on the same subnet can reach the web server, the server itself is up and reachable, and the network path (including the router) is functional for at least some clients. The problem is isolated to the user's workstation. A local firewall on the user's machine blocking outbound HTTPS (TCP 443) would prevent that specific host from connecting while leaving other hosts unaffected, perfectly matching the symptom pattern.
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 network router is blocking the user's traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Traffic to a server on the same subnet is delivered by ARP and Layer 2 switching, never through the router, so router filtering cannot explain one local host failing while another succeeds. Router ACLs are the answer when failures cross subnet boundaries.
- ✗
The web server is down.
Why it's wrong here
A server outage would prevent the second host on the same subnet from connecting too, contradicting the exhibit. Server-down is the right conclusion when all clients, regardless of subnet, report connection timeouts or refused connections to that service.
- ✗
DNS is resolving to the wrong IP for the user.
Why it's wrong here
A wrong DNS record would typically affect every host using that resolver, yet another host on the same subnet reaches the server, so name resolution is not the differentiator. DNS troubleshooting is correct when multiple clients resolve a name to a stale or incorrect address.
- ✓
The user's workstation has a local firewall blocking outbound HTTPS.
Why this is correct
The iptables output shows no rules, but the user's workstation gets 'Connection refused' while another host succeeds, indicating the issue is local to the workstation. A local firewall (e.g., software firewall) might be blocking outbound 443.
Visual reference
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Firewall and Security Basics
Key term
Subnet
A subnet is a logical subdivision of an IP network, created by partitioning a larger network address space using subnet masks.
Key term
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This XK0-006 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 XK0-006 exam.