PCNSA Decryption and Monitoring Practice Question
An admin notices that decryption is failing for some sites with error 'SSL Handshake Failed' in the traffic log. The decryption policy uses a custom SSL/TLS service profile with 'Allow Self-Signed Certificates' enabled. The firewall's certificate was issued by an internal CA. What should the admin check first?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume enabling 'Allow Self-Signed Certificates' bypasses all certificate validation, but in reality, the firewall still validates the full certificate chain, and a broken chain causes the handshake to fail.
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 server certificate chain is invalid
The error 'SSL Handshake Failed' typically indicates a problem with the server certificate chain, such as an intermediate CA certificate missing or an untrusted root. Even with 'Allow Self-Signed Certificates' enabled, the firewall must validate the entire certificate chain for forward decryption; if the chain is invalid or incomplete, the handshake fails. The admin should first verify that the server's certificate chain is complete and trusted by the firewall's certificate store.
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's certificate is expired
Why it's wrong here
An expired firewall certificate would affect all decrypted sessions, not just specific sites.
- ✗
The decryption policy's action is set to 'decrypt'
Why it's wrong here
The policy action must be 'decrypt' for decryption to occur; this is correctly configured.
- ✓
The server certificate chain is invalid
Why this is correct
An invalid or incomplete server certificate chain is a common cause of SSL handshake failure.
- ✗
The client is using an outdated browser
Why it's wrong here
Outdated browser may cause client-side issues but not an SSL handshake failure at the firewall level.
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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.