PCNSE Troubleshoot Practice Question
Exhibit
2025/03/15 10:30:45,drop,203.0.113.10,10.1.1.200,https,443,trust,untrust,deny-rule,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any,any
Refer to the exhibit. The traffic log shows a drop event from source IP 203.0.113.10 to destination 10.1.1.200 on port 443. The rule matched is 'deny-rule'. What is the most likely reason for this drop?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse a security rule's 'deny' action with a block caused by a security profile (like Threat Prevention or URL Filtering), but the log explicitly shows the rule matched is 'deny-rule', indicating the drop is from the rule itself, not from any profile-based inspection.
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 traffic matched a security rule that explicitly denies it
The traffic log explicitly states that the rule matched is 'deny-rule'. In Palo Alto Networks firewalls, when a security rule is configured with an action of 'Deny', any traffic matching that rule is dropped and logged with a 'deny' action. Since the log shows a drop event and the matched rule is 'deny-rule', the most direct and likely reason is that the traffic was explicitly denied by this security rule, not by any additional security profiles or external factors.
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 traffic matched a security rule that explicitly denies it
Why this is correct
The log clearly indicates rule 'deny-rule' matched, causing the drop.
- ✗
A threat prevention profile detected and blocked the session
Why it's wrong here
Threat prevention would log a different action.
- ✗
The traffic was blocked because the application is not allowed
Why it's wrong here
The rule deny-rule is the reason, not the application.
- ✗
The destination URL is categorized as prohibited
Why it's wrong here
URL filtering would generate a different log message.
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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.