This NSE7 practice question tests your understanding of advanced threat protection. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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 company uses FortiGate as a web application firewall (WAF) to protect a public web server. The security team wants to block SQL injection attacks. Which WAF signature category should the administrator enable?
Server-Side Request Forgery
Why wrong: SSRF signatures block server-side request forgery.
Command Injection
Why wrong: Command injection signatures block OS command injection.
SQL Injection
SQL injection signatures detect and block SQL injection attempts.
Cross-Site Scripting
Why wrong: XSS signatures block script injection, not SQL injection.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
SQL Injection
The correct answer is C because SQL injection attacks specifically target database queries by injecting malicious SQL statements through input fields. FortiGate's WAF signature category for SQL Injection is designed to detect and block these patterns, such as 'OR 1=1' or UNION-based injections, by matching against known attack signatures in the HTTP request payload.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Server-Side Request Forgery
Why it's wrong here
SSRF signatures block server-side request forgery.
Command Injection
Why it's wrong here
Command injection signatures block OS command injection.
SQL Injection
Why this is correct
SQL injection signatures detect and block SQL injection attempts.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Cross-Site Scripting
Why it's wrong here
XSS signatures block script injection, not SQL injection.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may confuse SQL Injection with Command Injection (Option B) because both involve injection attacks, but SQL Injection targets database layers via SQL syntax, while Command Injection targets the OS shell via system commands.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Command injection signatures block OS command injection.
Detailed technical explanation
FortiGate's WAF uses a signature-based detection engine that inspects HTTP parameters, headers, and URI for patterns like SQL keywords (SELECT, UNION, DROP) and special characters (', --). In a real-world scenario, enabling the SQL Injection category also helps block second-order injections where malicious input is stored and later executed, as the WAF can re-evaluate stored data on subsequent requests. The signatures are regularly updated via FortiGuard to cover new evasion techniques like hex encoding or comment obfuscation.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Advanced Threat Protection — This question tests Advanced Threat Protection — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: SQL Injection — The correct answer is C because SQL injection attacks specifically target database queries by injecting malicious SQL statements through input fields. FortiGate's WAF signature category for SQL Injection is designed to detect and block these patterns, such as 'OR 1=1' or UNION-based injections, by matching against known attack signatures in the HTTP request payload.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This NSE7 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 NSE7 exam.
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