PCNSA Securing Traffic Practice Question
A security administrator configures log forwarding to send threat logs to a central SIEM. The administrator creates a log forwarding profile that includes 'threat' and 'traffic' log types, and applies the profile to several security rules. After verifying, the SIEM receives logs for allowed traffic, but does not receive any logs for denied traffic. The administrator confirms that the deny rules also have the same log forwarding profile applied. What is the most likely cause of the missing denied traffic logs? The log forwarding profile is not configured to forward logs for denied sessions. The SIEM is not configured to receive syslog messages for deny actions. The firewall is logging only at session end and the deny sessions are not completing. The log forwarding profile only includes 'traffic' logs and not 'threat' logs.
⚠ Common exam trap
PCNSA often tests the misconception that including the 'traffic' log type in a log forwarding profile automatically forwards denied traffic logs, when in fact a separate 'Denied Sessions' option must be enabled.
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 log forwarding profile is not configured to forward logs for denied sessions.
In PAN-OS, log forwarding profiles have a separate checkbox for 'Denied Sessions' under the Traffic log type. Even if the profile includes the 'traffic' log type, denied traffic logs will not be forwarded unless this option is explicitly enabled. Since the SIEM receives allowed traffic logs but not denied ones, the most likely cause is that the profile is not configured to forward logs for denied sessions.
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 log forwarding profile only includes 'traffic' logs and not 'threat' logs.
Why it's wrong here
The profile already includes both 'threat' and 'traffic' log types, so omitting threat logs cannot explain missing denied-traffic entries. It is tempting because threat logs relate to security events, but denied sessions are recorded as traffic logs, and the actual gap is the profile's session-end logging configuration.
- ✗
The firewall is logging only at session end and the deny sessions are not completing.
Why it's wrong here
Denied sessions are terminated immediately by the firewall, so they do generate session-end logs; the 'session end' logging setting does not suppress them. It is tempting because incomplete sessions seem unloggable, but the profile must explicitly enable logging for denied sessions, which is the real omission.
- ✓
The log forwarding profile is not configured to forward logs for denied sessions.
Why this is correct
Denied sessions are dropped before a session is established, so they generate no traffic logs; only threat logs capture them. The profile must explicitly enable log forwarding for denied sessions, otherwise the firewall discards those entries regardless of the profile being attached to the deny rules.
- ✗
The SIEM is not configured to receive syslog messages for deny actions.
Why it's wrong here
Syslog reception is transport-level and action-agnostic; a SIEM accepting allowed-traffic logs already receives deny logs over the same channel. It is tempting because missing logs suggest a receiver misconfiguration, but the profile's session-end logging setting, not the SIEM, determines whether denied sessions are forwarded.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
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.