PCNSE Securing Traffic and App-ID Practice Question
Exhibit
show running security-policy
rule 10 {
name "Allow-Web"
source any
destination any
application ssl
service application-default
action allow
}
show session all filter source 10.1.1.100 destination 10.2.2.200
session id 1234, application web-browsing, ...Refer to the exhibit. A user at 10.1.1.100 reports that they cannot access a website at 10.2.2.200 over HTTPS. The firewall shows the session is allowed with application web-browsing, but the security policy rule "Allow-Web" has application set to ssl. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Palo Alto Networks often tests the misconception that a security policy rule with application set to ssl will automatically match HTTPS traffic, but without SSL decryption, App-ID cannot identify the application as ssl, causing the rule to not apply.
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 SSL decryption policy is not configured.
The session is allowed with application web-browsing, but the security policy rule 'Allow-Web' has application set to ssl. This indicates that the firewall is not decrypting the HTTPS traffic, so App-ID sees only the encrypted TCP handshake and incorrectly identifies it as web-browsing (HTTP) rather than ssl (HTTPS). Without an SSL decryption policy to decrypt the traffic, App-ID cannot inspect the encrypted payload to correctly identify the application as ssl, causing a mismatch between the policy rule's application requirement and the session's identified application.
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 application override is configured incorrectly.
Why it's wrong here
Application override forces a specific app, but the session shows web-browsing, not ssl; this would not cause the mismatch.
- ✗
The security policy rule order is incorrect.
Why it's wrong here
The session is allowed, so a rule matched; rule order might affect which rule matches, but the core issue is application identification.
- ✓
The SSL decryption policy is not configured.
Why this is correct
Without decryption, App-ID sees only the SSL handshake and identifies the traffic as web-browsing on port 443, not as the more specific ssl application.
- ✗
The service is set to application-default.
Why it's wrong here
The service setting controls port matching, not application identification.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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