NSE7 Advanced Threat Protection Practice Question
An administrator wants to use FortiGate to block outbound traffic to known malicious IP addresses based on a threat intelligence feed. They configure a threat feed connector and a firewall policy with a destination address group. However, the policy is not blocking traffic to the malicious IPs. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is focusing on the threat feed configuration while overlooking the fundamental firewall policy processing order.
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 firewall policy is placed after a more permissive policy that allows the traffic.
FortiGate evaluates firewall policies sequentially. If a permissive policy appears above the blocking policy, traffic is allowed and never reaches the blocking rule. Placing the blocking policy before any permissive policies ensures malicious traffic is denied.
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 destination address group does not include the threat feed connector object.
Why it's wrong here
The threat feed connector object must be added to the destination address group used in the policy. If it is not included, the policy will not match the malicious IPs. However, the scenario states the administrator configured a firewall policy with a destination address group, implying the group includes the connector. The more likely cause is policy ordering.
- ✗
The threat feed connector is not enabled in the security fabric settings.
Why it's wrong here
Threat feed connectors are configured independently and do not require a specific security fabric setting to function. Enabling them in security fabric is not a prerequisite for their operation. The issue is more likely related to the firewall policy configuration or the address group.
- ✗
The threat feed connector is configured with the wrong protocol (HTTP instead of HTTPS).
Why it's wrong here
The protocol used by the threat feed connector (HTTP or HTTPS) depends on the feed server's requirements. If the feed is accessible over HTTP, it will work. However, the scenario does not indicate a feed retrieval issue; the policy is not blocking, which suggests the feed data is not being used correctly in the policy.
- ✓
The firewall policy is placed after a more permissive policy that allows the traffic.
Why this is correct
FortiGate processes firewall policies in top-down order. If a more permissive policy above the blocking policy allows the traffic, the blocking policy is never evaluated. This is a common misconfiguration. The administrator should move the blocking policy above the permissive policy or adjust the permissive policy.
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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 Fortinet exam blueprint
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.