NSE7 Advanced Threat Protection Practice Question
A FortiGate admin configures an automation stitch to send an email alert when a high-severity IPS event occurs. The trigger is 'IPS Event' and the action is 'Email'. After testing, no email is sent despite events being logged. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume the automation stitch is misconfigured or the IPS engine is blocking the event, when the real issue is the underlying email infrastructure (SMTP) that the action depends on, which is a separate configuration from the stitch itself.
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
✓
No SMTP server is configured in the FortiGate
The automation stitch requires a functional SMTP server configuration to send emails. Without an SMTP server defined under System > Settings > Email Service, the FortiGate cannot relay the alert email, even if the trigger and action are correctly configured and events are logged. This is the most common reason for email delivery failure in automation stitches.
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 IPS event severity threshold is set too low
Why it's wrong here
A low severity threshold would generate more trigger events, not suppress them, so it cannot explain missing emails. It is tempting because misconfigured thresholds commonly cause automation issues, and lowering the threshold would be correct when high-severity events are being missed, which is the opposite symptom.
- ✗
The automation stitch is disabled
Why it's wrong here
A disabled stitch produces no action at all, but the stem states events are logged and the trigger fires, so the stitch is enabled. Disabling is a deliberate troubleshooting step for silencing noisy stitches, not the cause of silent failure here; the email action's SMTP server or recipient configuration is likelier.
- ✓
No SMTP server is configured in the FortiGate
Why this is correct
The Email action requires a configured SMTP server to relay messages; without one, the stitch fires but delivery silently fails. Events still appear in logs because logging is independent of the automation action, matching the symptom of logged IPS events with no alert email.
- ✗
The IPS engine is in monitor mode
Why it's wrong here
Monitor mode still generates and logs IPS events, so the automation trigger fires regardless; it affects blocking, not alerting. It is tempting because monitor mode is a frequent cause of unexpected behaviour, and would be correct if the complaint were that traffic was not being blocked.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.