- A
A traffic shaping policy or application control profile is blocking the traffic; review and adjust the traffic shaping policy or application control profile applied to the policy.
Forward policy check denials are caused by traffic shaping or application control.
- B
The route to the DMZ is intermittently flapping; add a static route with a higher distance.
Why wrong: Routing issues would show different debug messages, not 'forward policy check'.
- C
The security profiles (AV, IPS) are blocking the traffic; temporarily disable all security profiles on the policy.
Why wrong: Security profiles cause 'denied by application control' or 'denied by IPS', not 'forward policy check'.
- D
The session helper for HTTPS is interfering; disable the HTTPS session helper.
Why wrong: Session helpers do not cause 'forward policy check' denials.
Quick Answer
The answer is a traffic shaping policy or application control profile blocking the traffic, even though the security policy itself is set to allow. This occurs because the FortiGate’s forward policy check evaluates not only the firewall rule but also any attached Layer 7 or QoS profiles; if a traffic shaping policy is configured to deny or drop certain traffic patterns, it overrides the security policy’s allow action, resulting in the “denied by forward policy check” log entry. On the Fortinet NSE 7 Advanced Security NSE7 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of policy evaluation order and the interplay between security policies and advanced features like application control or traffic shaping—a common trap is assuming a matching allow rule guarantees passage, ignoring that secondary profiles can still block. The recommended action is to review and adjust the traffic shaping policy or application control profile applied to that rule. Memory tip: “Allow is not enough—check the shaping stuff.”
NSE7 Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Practice Question
This NSE7 practice question tests your understanding of troubleshooting and diagnostics. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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 is deployed as the edge firewall for a medium-sized enterprise. The network has three internal zones: Trust (10.10.0.0/16), DMZ (172.16.0.0/24), and Guest (192.168.0.0/24). The FortiGate has an IPSec VPN to a branch office (10.20.0.0/16). Users in the Trust zone report intermittent connectivity to a web server in the DMZ (172.16.0.10, TCP port 443). The FortiGate logs show occasional 'session denied' messages for traffic from Trust to DMZ with reason 'denied by forward policy check'. The security policy has an explicit allow rule for Trust to DMZ HTTPS. The administrator has verified routing is correct and there are no address overlaps. When the issue occurs, the administrator runs 'diag debug flow' and sees that the packet matches the correct policy but still gets denied. The debug output also shows 'forward policy check: denied'. What is the most likely cause and recommended action?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"most likely"Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
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
A traffic shaping policy or application control profile is blocking the traffic; review and adjust the traffic shaping policy or application control profile applied to the policy.
The debug flow output shows the packet matches the correct security policy but is still denied by 'forward policy check'. This indicates that a secondary policy component, such as a traffic shaping policy or application control profile, is blocking the traffic. These features can override the security policy action if they are configured to deny or drop matching traffic, even when the security policy itself is set to allow.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A traffic shaping policy or application control profile is blocking the traffic; review and adjust the traffic shaping policy or application control profile applied to the policy.
Why this is correct
Forward policy check denials are caused by traffic shaping or application control.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The route to the DMZ is intermittently flapping; add a static route with a higher distance.
Why it's wrong here
Routing issues would show different debug messages, not 'forward policy check'.
- ✗
The security profiles (AV, IPS) are blocking the traffic; temporarily disable all security profiles on the policy.
Why it's wrong here
Security profiles cause 'denied by application control' or 'denied by IPS', not 'forward policy check'.
- ✗
The session helper for HTTPS is interfering; disable the HTTPS session helper.
Why it's wrong here
Session helpers do not cause 'forward policy check' denials.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often assume a security policy 'allow' rule is sufficient, overlooking that FortiGate's forward policy check evaluates additional policy layers (like traffic shaping or application control) that can independently deny traffic even after a security policy match.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Routing issues would show different debug messages, not 'forward policy check'.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The 'forward policy check' is a FortiGate internal mechanism that evaluates all policy-related objects (e.g., traffic shaping policies, application control, web filtering) after the initial security policy match. If a traffic shaping policy is configured with a 'deny' action for certain traffic patterns, it will override the allow action of the security policy. This is a common misconfiguration when administrators apply traffic shaping policies globally or per-policy without realizing they can block traffic.
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 security administrator must allow nursing staff to reach a patient records server while blocking access from the guest Wi-Fi VLAN. After applying an extended ACL, traffic is still blocked from nursing workstations. The ACL was applied outbound instead of inbound on the wrong interface. Questions like this test ACL direction and placement rules.
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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Troubleshooting and Diagnostics — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this NSE7 question test?
Troubleshooting and Diagnostics — This question tests Troubleshooting and Diagnostics — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: A traffic shaping policy or application control profile is blocking the traffic; review and adjust the traffic shaping policy or application control profile applied to the policy. — The debug flow output shows the packet matches the correct security policy but is still denied by 'forward policy check'. This indicates that a secondary policy component, such as a traffic shaping policy or application control profile, is blocking the traffic. These features can override the security policy action if they are configured to deny or drop matching traffic, even when the security policy itself is set to allow.
What should I do if I get this NSE7 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: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 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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