PCNSE Securing Traffic and App-ID Practice Question
Exhibit
Refer to the exhibit. show running security-policy rule 1 name "Allow-Web" source any destination any application web-browsing action allow profile threat rule 2 name "Block-All" source any destination any application any action deny
Given the security policy above, what will happen to an HTTP request from a user to a public website?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume rule 2's 'deny all' will catch the traffic, forgetting that the first-match rule (rule 1) with an 'allow' action takes precedence and terminates policy evaluation.
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
✓
It will be allowed because rule 1 matches and action is allow.
Rule 1 matches the HTTP request because it typically includes the application 'web-browsing' (or a broader application category) and the action is set to 'allow'. Since security policy evaluation in Palo Alto Networks firewalls is first-match, the traffic is permitted by rule 1 before reaching rule 2. The threat profile does not block the request unless it detects malicious content, which is not indicated in the question.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
It will be allowed but then blocked by the threat profile.
Why it's wrong here
The threat profile may detect and block, but the question does not mention a specific threat. The default behavior is to allow.
- ✗
It will be denied because web-browsing is not identified.
Why it's wrong here
Web-browsing is identified by App-ID for HTTP traffic.
- ✗
It will be denied because rule 2 blocks all.
Why it's wrong here
Rule 2 is evaluated only if rule 1 does not match, but since rule 1 matches, rule 2 is not applied.
- ✓
It will be allowed because rule 1 matches and action is allow.
Why this is correct
Correct: Rule 1 matches web-browsing traffic and allows it.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCNSE 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 PCNSE exam.