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PCNSA Practice Question: Users report that some internal services are not…
Users report that some internal services are not accessible when connected via VPN, but they work when on the local network. The firewall has a policy allowing all traffic from the VPN zone to the internal zone. What should the administrator check 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 if there are NAT rules that affect the VPN zone traffic, such as missing reverse NAT.
When users can access internal services locally but not via VPN, a common issue is missing reverse NAT rules. Even if a security policy allows traffic from VPN to internal, the return traffic might not have the correct NAT translation to route back to the VPN client. Checking NAT rules, especially reverse NAT (destination NAT return), is the first step. Option A is incorrect because SSL decryption typically affects encrypted traffic inspection, not basic connectivity. Option C is incorrect because zone protection profiles are designed to protect against attacks, not to block legitimate traffic that works locally. Option D is incorrect because the policy order is irrelevant if the policy already matches and allows the traffic; the issue is likely at the NAT layer.
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 if SSL decryption is breaking the traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Decryption is likely not applied to internal-to-internal traffic.
- ✓
Check if there are NAT rules that affect the VPN zone traffic, such as missing reverse NAT.
Why this is correct
Often, internal servers are behind NAT, and VPN traffic may require proper NAT rules to handle return traffic.
- ✗
Check if the zone protection profile is dropping traffic.
Why it's wrong here
Zone protection profiles are for flood protection, etc., and would not selectively block specific services.
- ✗
Check if the security policy rule order is correct.
Why it's wrong here
If an allow rule exists, order typically doesn't cause denial unless there is a deny rule above it.
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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.