- A
Add a decryption policy to decrypt HTTPS traffic for inspection.
Decryption allows the firewall to see the plaintext content of HTTPS sessions, enabling security profiles to detect and block application-layer attacks.
- B
Change the rule's security profile group to include threat prevention profiles.
Why wrong: Even with a full security profile group, the firewall cannot inspect the encrypted payload of HTTPS traffic without decryption.
- C
Move the web server to the trust zone and adjust routing.
Why wrong: Moving the server to trust would expose internal resources to the internet and break the purpose of the DMZ, while also potentially affecting accessibility.
- D
Enable vulnerability protection profile on the existing rule.
Why wrong: While vulnerability protection helps, without decryption the profile cannot inspect encrypted HTTPS traffic, so attacks would still bypass.
PCNSA Core Concepts Practice Question
This PCNSA practice question tests your understanding of core concepts. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A small company runs a Palo Alto Networks PA-220 firewall with three zones: trust (internal users), untrust (internet), and dmz (public-facing services). They host a web server on IP 10.0.1.10 in the dmz zone, serving HTTPS content. The administrator created a security policy rule that allows traffic from untrust to dmz with source 'any', destination 10.0.1.10, service HTTPS, and action allow. No security profiles are applied to this rule. Users outside the company can access the web server successfully. However, the administrator notices from log reports that certain application-based attacks, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting, are reaching the web server undetected. The firewall has the required threat prevention licenses installed. What is the best course of action to improve security posture?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
Add a decryption policy to decrypt HTTPS traffic for inspection.
The correct answer is A because the traffic is HTTPS, which is encrypted. Without decryption, the firewall cannot inspect the payload for application-based attacks like SQL injection or XSS, even with threat prevention licenses. Adding a decryption policy allows the firewall to decrypt the traffic, apply threat prevention profiles, and detect these attacks.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Add a decryption policy to decrypt HTTPS traffic for inspection.
Why this is correct
Decryption allows the firewall to see the plaintext content of HTTPS sessions, enabling security profiles to detect and block application-layer attacks.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Change the rule's security profile group to include threat prevention profiles.
- ✗
Move the web server to the trust zone and adjust routing.
Why it's wrong here
Moving the server to trust would expose internal resources to the internet and break the purpose of the DMZ, while also potentially affecting accessibility.
- ✗
Enable vulnerability protection profile on the existing rule.
Why it's wrong here
While vulnerability protection helps, without decryption the profile cannot inspect encrypted HTTPS traffic, so attacks would still bypass.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates assume threat prevention profiles alone can inspect encrypted traffic, but without decryption, the firewall cannot see the application-layer payload, making profiles ineffective against HTTPS-based attacks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Palo Alto Networks firewalls use SSL/TLS decryption (forward proxy) to terminate encrypted sessions, re-encrypt after inspection, and apply threat prevention profiles like vulnerability protection and anti-malware. Without decryption, the firewall only sees the encrypted tunnel and cannot inspect application-layer payloads for SQL injection or XSS, which are embedded in the HTTP body after TLS handshake. In real-world scenarios, organizations often use a combination of decryption exclusion rules for sensitive sites and decryption for internal or DMZ services to balance security and privacy.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Core Concepts — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PCNSA question test?
Core Concepts — This question tests Core Concepts — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Add a decryption policy to decrypt HTTPS traffic for inspection. — The correct answer is A because the traffic is HTTPS, which is encrypted. Without decryption, the firewall cannot inspect the payload for application-based attacks like SQL injection or XSS, even with threat prevention licenses. Adding a decryption policy allows the firewall to decrypt the traffic, apply threat prevention profiles, and detect these attacks.
What should I do if I get this PCNSA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This PCNSA 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 PCNSA exam.
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