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PCNSA Practice Question: A firewall is configured with multiple security…
A firewall is configured with multiple security zones. Traffic from the 'Untrust' zone to the 'DMZ' zone is allowed for web services. The administrator wants to ensure that the DMZ servers cannot initiate connections to the Untrust zone. What is the correct approach?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume they must create an explicit deny rule to block traffic from DMZ to Untrust, not realizing that Palo Alto Networks firewalls already block all inter-zone traffic by default unless a permit rule is explicitly configured.
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
✓
Do nothing; by default, inter-zone traffic from DMZ to Untrust is blocked.
By default, Palo Alto Networks firewalls use an implicit deny rule for all inter-zone traffic that is not explicitly allowed. Since the administrator has only created a rule permitting traffic from Untrust to DMZ for web services, no rule exists to permit traffic from DMZ to Untrust, so the implicit deny blocks any DMZ-initiated connections to the Untrust zone without any additional configuration.
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 zone protection profile on the DMZ zone.
Why it's wrong here
Zone protection profiles prevent attacks, not outbound connections.
- ✗
Create a rule allowing traffic from Untrust to DMZ and another rule allowing DMZ to Untrust.
Why it's wrong here
This would allow DMZ to initiate connections, which is not desired.
- ✗
Create a rule allowing traffic from DMZ to Untrust with a deny action.
Why it's wrong here
This would create an explicit deny, but the default already blocks; this adds unnecessary complexity.
- ✓
Do nothing; by default, inter-zone traffic from DMZ to Untrust is blocked.
Why this is correct
The default inter-zone rule blocks all traffic that is not explicitly allowed.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCNSA 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 PCNSA exam.