NSE7 Advanced Threat Protection Practice Question
A FortiGate is configured with a WAF profile to protect a web server. The administrator notices that SQL injection attacks are still reaching the server despite the WAF being enabled. What is the MOST likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume a WAF profile is a monolithic block of protection, but FortiGate allows granular disabling of individual signature sets, and the exam tests whether you understand that a disabled signature set is the most direct cause of a specific attack type bypassing the WAF.
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 SQL injection signature set is disabled in the WAF profile
The WAF profile contains signature sets that detect and block common attack patterns, including SQL injection. If the SQL injection signature set is disabled within the profile, the WAF will not inspect traffic for those patterns, allowing attacks to pass through. This is the most direct and likely reason why SQL injection attacks are reaching the server despite the WAF being enabled.
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 SQL injection signature set is disabled in the WAF profile
Why this is correct
WAF signatures are organized in groups; SQL injection must be enabled.
- ✗
The attack is coming from a trusted IP
Why it's wrong here
Trusted IPs bypass WAF, but that is not mentioned.
- ✗
The web server is using HTTPS without SSL inspection
Why it's wrong here
WAF can inspect HTTPS if configured; but if SSL inspection is off, WAF still sees encrypted payload and cannot detect SQL injection.
- ✗
The WAF profile is not applied to the correct policy
Why it's wrong here
If applied to wrong policy, no inspection occurs. But the admin says enabled.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every NSE7 question from scratch — 940 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.