PCNSA Policy Evaluation and Management Practice Question
A security administrator notices that traffic from an internal user to a specific external web application is being blocked unexpectedly. The user's IP is 10.10.1.50 and the destination is 203.0.113.5 on port 443. The administrator has already verified that there is a security rule allowing the traffic. Which two logs should the administrator check first to diagnose the issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Palo Alto Networks often tests the misconception that a security rule allowing traffic guarantees the traffic will pass, but the trap here is that secondary policies like URL filtering profiles can override the security rule action, so candidates must check both the Traffic log and the URL Filtering log first.
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
✓
Check the Traffic log and the URL Filtering log.
Even if a security rule explicitly allows traffic, secondary policies such as URL filtering can block the session. The Traffic log shows whether the session was allowed or denied, and the URL Filtering log reveals if the destination URL was blocked by a URL filtering profile. Option B is also correct because Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) / Threat Prevention signatures applied via a Security policy rule can block traffic that would otherwise be allowed. The Threat log records any such signature matches that resulted in blocking. Therefore, the administrator should check both the Traffic log and URL Filtering log (A) and the Threat log (B) first to diagnose the unexpected blocking.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Check the Traffic log and the URL Filtering log.
Why this is correct
Correct. The Traffic log shows session disposition (allow/deny) and the URL Filtering log shows if URL filtering blocked the traffic, which is a common secondary policy that can block traffic even when the security rule allows.
- ✓
Check the Threat log for any intrusion prevention signatures that matched the traffic.
Why this is correct
Correct. The Threat log records matches against intrusion prevention (IPS) signatures. If a threat signature matched and blocked the traffic, it would appear in this log, making it a primary log to check.
- ✗
Check the System log for configuration changes that might have added a rule.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. While the System log shows configuration changes, it is not the first place to check because the immediate cause is likely a filtering policy (URL filtering or threat prevention) rather than a new rule addition.
- ✗
Check the HIP Match log to see if the user's device lacks required security software.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. The HIP Match log relates to Host Information Profile (HIP) checks for GlobalProtect, which are less likely to be the cause of the specific traffic being blocked to an external web application on port 443.
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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.