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PCNSA Practice Question: A network administrator is troubleshooting a…
A network administrator is troubleshooting a connectivity issue where users in the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet cannot reach a server at 10.0.0.10. The firewall has a rule that allows traffic from source zone 'Trust' to destination zone 'DMZ' with source address 192.168.1.0/24 and destination address 10.0.0.10. The traffic is matching the rule, but the packets are being dropped. What is the most likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse security policy matching with successful packet forwarding, forgetting that a firewall must also have a route to the destination to complete the delivery.
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 does not have a route to the 10.0.0.0/24 network.
The traffic matches the security rule, but the firewall drops the packet because it cannot find a route to the destination network 10.0.0.0/24. In Palo Alto Networks firewalls, even if a security rule permits traffic, the firewall must have a valid route in its routing table to forward the packet to the next hop. Without a route, the firewall has no way to deliver the packet to the server at 10.0.0.10, resulting in a drop.
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 firewall does not have a route to the 10.0.0.0/24 network.
Why this is correct
Without a route, the firewall cannot forward the packet to the destination, even if the security rule allows it.
- ✗
The security rule is not placed at the top of the rulebase.
Why it's wrong here
The rule is matching, so its position is not the issue.
- ✗
A zone protection profile is blocking the traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Zone protection profiles block based on flood or reconnaissance attacks, not normal traffic.
- ✗
The destination server does not have a route back to the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet.
Why it's wrong here
The firewall handles asymmetric routing; return traffic is not the issue here.
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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.