NSE7 Advanced VPN and Zero Trust Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. diagnose vpn ike stats IKE SAs: 1 IPsec SAs: 2 IKE SA: SPIs: abc123 xyz789, 172.16.1.1:500->203.0.113.1:500, IKEv2, AES256-SHA256 Life/Active Time: 86400/36000 sec IPsec SA: inbound SPI: 123456, outbound SPI: 789012, AES256-SHA256 Life/Active Time: 28800/10000 sec IPsec SA: inbound SPI: 345678, outbound SPI: 901234, AES256-SHA256 Life/Active Time: 28800/10000 sec
Refer to the exhibit. An administrator runs the 'diagnose vpn ike stats' command on a FortiGate. What does the output indicate?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates may misinterpret the presence of two IPsec SAs as a redundancy or error, when in fact it is the normal and expected result of IPsec's directional SA model.
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 tunnel has one IKE SA and two IPsec SAs, which is normal for a single VPN tunnel.
The 'diagnose vpn ike stats' output shows one IKE SA (phase 1) and two IPsec SAs (phase 2). This is normal for a single VPN tunnel when using IPsec with both inbound and outbound SAs, or when the tunnel is configured with separate SAs for different traffic selectors. The presence of two IPsec SAs under one IKE SA does not indicate an error or vulnerability; it is the expected behavior for a standard IPsec VPN tunnel.
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 tunnel is vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack because the IPsec SAs are using the same encryption algorithm.
Why it's wrong here
Using the same algorithm is not a vulnerability; it is standard.
- ✗
The tunnel configuration is incorrect because there are two IPsec SAs under one IKE SA.
Why it's wrong here
This is normal behavior for a single tunnel.
- ✗
The tunnel is using two IKE SAs for redundancy.
Why it's wrong here
Only one IKE SA is listed.
- ✓
The tunnel has one IKE SA and two IPsec SAs, which is normal for a single VPN tunnel.
Why this is correct
A single tunnel uses two IPsec SAs (one for each direction) under one IKE SA.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
Go deeper
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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.