PCNSE Deploy and Configure Firewalls Practice Question
Exhibit
set shared decryption rule MyRule from trust to untrust source 10.1.1.0/24 destination any application ssl decryption forward-proxy
Refer to the exhibit. An administrator has configured this decryption policy but users in the 10.1.1.0/24 subnet receive certificate warnings when accessing HTTPS sites. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Palo Alto Networks often tests the distinction between rule configuration issues (like order or application matching) and certificate trust issues, leading candidates to focus on policy settings rather than the fundamental requirement that clients must trust the decryption CA.
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 decryption certificate is not trusted by clients
Certificate warnings occur when the decryption certificate used by the firewall is not trusted by the client machines. In a forward proxy decryption scenario, the firewall generates a new certificate on-the-fly for each HTTPS session, and if that certificate is not installed in the client's trusted root store, the browser will display a security warning. This is the most common cause of certificate warnings in decryption deployments.
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 rule should be at the top of the rulebase
Why it's wrong here
Rule order may affect matching but would not cause certificate warnings.
- ✗
The destination address should be specific
Why it's wrong here
Destination 'any' is valid and does not affect certificate warnings.
- ✗
The application should be web-browsing
Why it's wrong here
SSL is the correct application for HTTPS; web-browsing is for HTTP.
- ✓
The decryption certificate is not trusted by clients
Why this is correct
Clients must trust the firewall's CA certificate for seamless decryption; otherwise, certificate warnings appear.
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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.