PCNSA Policy Evaluation and Management Practice Question
An administrator is troubleshooting why a security rule is not being hit. The rule is for traffic from the 'Trust' zone to the 'Untrust' zone, source address 10.1.1.0/24, destination address any, application 'web-browsing', service 'application-default', action allow. The traffic in question is from 10.1.1.5 to 8.8.8.8 on port 80. The administrator checks the traffic logs and sees that the session is being denied by the interzone default rule. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is focusing on the source address or application, but the denial by the interzone default rule points to a zone mismatch, which is a common oversight.
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 zone assigned to the ingress interface for the traffic is not 'Trust'.
The traffic is denied by the interzone default rule, meaning the custom rule was not matched. The most likely cause is that the ingress interface is not assigned to the 'Trust' zone. The source zone in the rule must match the zone of the incoming interface. If the interface is in a different zone, the rule will not be evaluated. Checking the zone configuration on the interface would resolve this.
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 zone assigned to the ingress interface for the traffic is not 'Trust'.
Why this is correct
If the interface receiving the traffic is not assigned to the 'Trust' zone, the source zone in the rule will not match. The traffic log would show the actual zone, which might be different. The rule would not be hit, and the interzone default rule would deny it. This is a common misconfiguration when interfaces are not properly zoned.
- ✗
The rule is disabled.
Why it's wrong here
If the rule were disabled, it would not appear in the rulebase as an active rule. The traffic log shows denial by the interzone default rule, which means the custom rule was not matched. A disabled rule is not evaluated, but the administrator would likely have noticed its disabled state. The issue is more subtle, such as a misconfigured zone or address.
- ✗
The source address in the rule does not match the actual source IP of the traffic.
Why it's wrong here
The source address 10.1.1.0/24 includes 10.1.1.5, so it should match. If the actual source IP were different, it would not match, but here it is within the subnet. The rule would match if the traffic originates from that subnet. The denial suggests another factor, such as the zone not being correctly assigned to the interface.
- ✗
The application 'web-browsing' is not matching because the traffic is actually HTTPS on port 80.
Why it's wrong here
The scenario states the traffic is on port 80, which is HTTP. If it were HTTPS, it would be on port 443. Even if it were HTTPS on port 80, App-ID would identify it as 'ssl' and not 'web-browsing', but the question specifies port 80 and the application 'web-browsing'. The denial by the interzone default rule indicates a zone mismatch, not an application mismatch.
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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.