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PCNSE Core Concepts and Architecture Practice Question

Exhibit

# Timestamp: 2020-07-10 12:34:56
# Source IP: 10.0.0.1
# Destination IP: 203.0.113.2
# Application: ssl
# Action: allow
# Session End Reason: aged-out
# Bytes In: 5000
# Bytes Out: 12000

Refer to the exhibit. What does the 'Session End Reason: aged-out' indicate about the traffic?

⚠ Common exam trap

Palo Alto Networks often tests the misconception that 'aged-out' means the session was terminated by a security policy or explicit reset, but the trap here is that 'aged-out' specifically refers to an idle timeout, not a policy action or TCP handshake termination.

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 session was idle for longer than the timeout threshold.

The 'Session End Reason: aged-out' indicates that the firewall terminated the session because it remained idle for longer than the configured timeout threshold. Palo Alto Networks firewalls use application-specific timeouts (e.g., TCP default 3600 seconds, UDP 30 seconds) to free resources from sessions that have stopped transmitting data. This is a normal cleanup mechanism, not a policy or explicit termination.

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 session was terminated by a firewall policy.

    Why it's wrong here

    Aged-out means the session timed out, not terminated by policy.

  • ✓

    The session was idle for longer than the timeout threshold.

    Why this is correct

    Aged-out indicates the session was idle and reached the timeout.

  • ✗

    The session was forcibly closed by an administrator.

    Why it's wrong here

    Administrator forced closure would show as 'administratively-reset'.

  • ✗

    The session ended due to a TCP FIN/RST from the client.

    Why it's wrong here

    FIN or RST would show as 'tcp-fin' or 'tcp-rst'.

About these practice questions

One of 504 original PCNSE practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →

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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.