PCNSA Decryption and Monitoring Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. # show system info | match decrypt Decryption status: enabled Decryption sessions: 523 (current), 1024 (peak) Certificate errors: 12 (since last hour) # show decryption statistics Policy hits: Decrypt: 1500, No Decrypt: 300 TLS version failures: 5 (TLS 1.0: 3, TLS 1.1: 2)
Refer to the exhibit. An administrator notices a large number of decryption sessions. What is a valid conclusion based on the output?
⚠ Common exam trap
Palo Alto Networks often tests the ability to distinguish between different decryption failure reasons (TLS version mismatch vs. certificate errors vs. cipher mismatch), and the trap here is that candidates may assume any decryption failure is due to certificate issues, ignoring the specific error message in the output.
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
✓
There are a few sessions failing due to TLS version mismatch.
The exhibit shows decryption sessions with a 'TLS version mismatch' error, which indicates that the firewall is failing to establish a decryption session because the client and server are attempting to use different TLS versions (e.g., TLS 1.0 vs. TLS 1.2). This is a specific failure reason logged in the decryption session table, and the large number of such sessions confirms that many are failing due to this mismatch, not due to certificate errors or policy issues.
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 is rejecting many sessions due to certificate errors.
Why it's wrong here
Only 12 errors in the last hour, not 'many'.
- ✓
There are a few sessions failing due to TLS version mismatch.
Why this is correct
5 TLS version failures indicate some issues.
- ✗
The decryption policy is not being hit because of low policy hits.
Why it's wrong here
Policy hits are 1800 total, indicating active usage.
- ✗
The current decryption session count is at its peak.
Why it's wrong here
Current is 523, peak is 1024, so not at peak.
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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.