Cybersecurity-Practitioner Cybersecurity Fundamentals Practice Question
An organization's security policy mandates that all software vulnerabilities with a CVSS score above 7.0 must be blocked at the network perimeter within 24 hours of disclosure. A new zero-day vulnerability is announced. While awaiting vendor patches, how can a Palo Alto Networks administrator immediately mitigate this threat using built-in platform features?
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
✓
Apply a custom Vulnerability Protection signature or update the predefined threat signature action to 'block' for the specific CVE
Administrators can update Vulnerability Protection profiles or create custom vulnerability signatures to block exploit attempts targeting the newly disclosed flaw before a vendor patch is available.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configure a custom URL Filtering category to block the vendor advisory website
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Blocking the advisory website does not prevent exploitation traffic from reaching vulnerable internal servers.
- ✓
Apply a custom Vulnerability Protection signature or update the predefined threat signature action to 'block' for the specific CVE
Why this is correct
Correct. Threat signatures in Vulnerability Protection profiles allow immediate blocking of exploit traffic targeting specific CVEs.
- ✗
Deploy an Application Override policy to drop all traffic using the affected application port
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. Application override disables App-ID inspection and dropping ports can cause unintended business disruption.
- ✗
Enable strict WildFire forwarding for all outbound DNS requests originating from the server subnet
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. WildFire analyzes files, whereas vulnerability exploitation traffic consists of network packets containing exploit payloads.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
This Cybersecurity-Practitioner practice question is part of Courseiva's free Palo Alto Networks 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 Cybersecurity-Practitioner exam.