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NSE4 Firewall Policies and NAT Practice Question
This NSE4 practice question tests your understanding of firewall policies and nat. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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 FortiGate has two firewall policies: Policy 1 (ID 1) allows HTTP from any to 10.0.0.0/8, and Policy 2 (ID 2) denies all traffic from 192.168.1.0/24 to any. Traffic from 192.168.1.10 to 10.0.0.5 on port 80 is received. Which policy will match first?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"first"Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
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
✓
Policy 1 (ID 1) will match and accept the traffic
Policy 1 (ID 1) matches first because FortiGate evaluates firewall policies in sequential order from top to bottom (lowest ID to highest ID) until a match is found. The source IP 192.168.1.10 falls within the 'any' source of Policy 1, and the destination 10.0.0.5 is within 10.0.0.0/8, with HTTP (port 80) matching the service. Since Policy 1 matches, it is applied and the traffic is accepted, even though Policy 2 would also match if reached.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume a more specific source (192.168.1.0/24) will override a broader source (any) due to specificity, but FortiGate uses sequential order, not longest-prefix matching, for policy selection.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
FortiGate firewall policies are processed in order of their policy ID (or configured sequence), and the first match is applied—this is known as 'first-match' logic. The source address 'any' in Policy 1 includes all IP addresses, including 192.168.1.0/24, so Policy 1 will match before the more specific deny policy. In real-world deployments, placing broad allow policies before specific deny policies can inadvertently bypass intended restrictions, which is why careful policy ordering is critical.
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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
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.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this NSE4 question test?
Firewall Policies and NAT — This question tests Firewall Policies and NAT — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Policy 1 (ID 1) will match and accept the traffic — Policy 1 (ID 1) matches first because FortiGate evaluates firewall policies in sequential order from top to bottom (lowest ID to highest ID) until a match is found. The source IP 192.168.1.10 falls within the 'any' source of Policy 1, and the destination 10.0.0.5 is within 10.0.0.0/8, with HTTP (port 80) matching the service. Since Policy 1 matches, it is applied and the traffic is accepted, even though Policy 2 would also match if reached.
What should I do if I get this NSE4 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: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This NSE4 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Fortinet 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 NSE4 exam.
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