Palo Alto Networks NGFW-Engineer Certified Next-Generation Firewall Exam Dumps and Practice Test Questions Set 6 Q76 — 90
Visit here for our full Palo Alto Networks NGFW-Engineer exam dumps and practice test questions.
Question 76
An administrator needs to configure SSL Forward Proxy decryption to inspect HTTPS traffic. What is the first step required before creating decryption policies?
A) Enable threat prevention on all security policies
B) Import or generate a forward trust certificate and configure it in the SSL Forward Proxy settings
C) Disable all security policies temporarily
D) Configure URL filtering categories
Answer: B
Explanation:
Importing or generating a forward trust certificate and configuring it in the SSL Forward Proxy settings is the foundational requirement for SSL decryption. The firewall needs a trusted certificate authority certificate to intercept and re-sign SSL/TLS connections, enabling inspection of encrypted traffic.
SSL Forward Proxy works by terminating the original SSL connection from the client and establishing a new SSL connection to the destination server. The firewall presents a certificate signed by the forward trust CA to the client. For this to work without browser warnings, the forward trust CA certificate must be deployed to client systems as a trusted root certificate.
The certificate configuration happens in Device > Certificate Management > Certificates. Administrators can generate a self-signed CA certificate on the firewall or import an existing enterprise CA certificate. This certificate is then selected in the SSL Forward Proxy configuration under Device > Certificate Management > SSL Forward Proxy, where it’s designated as the signing certificate for intercepted sessions.
Once the certificate infrastructure is established, decryption policies can be created defining which traffic to decrypt, which to bypass (like banking sites or healthcare applications), and which security profiles to apply to decrypted traffic. Without the forward trust certificate properly configured, the firewall cannot perform SSL decryption operations.
A is incorrect because threat prevention is applied after decryption occurs and is not a prerequisite. Security policies with threat prevention profiles process decrypted traffic, but the decryption infrastructure including certificates must be established first before any traffic can be decrypted and inspected.
C is completely wrong and would disrupt network security. Security policies should never be disabled during SSL decryption configuration. The firewall continues enforcing security policies while decryption is being configured. Disabling policies would leave the network unprotected and is not related to SSL decryption setup.
D is unrelated to SSL decryption prerequisites. URL filtering is a content inspection feature applied to traffic after decryption but is not required to enable the decryption capability itself. URL filtering policies can be applied to both encrypted and unencrypted traffic independently of the decryption configuration.
Question 77
A security policy allows traffic from Trust to Untrust zone but traffic is being blocked. The traffic log shows the session matches the correct security policy but the action is «deny.» What is the most likely cause?
A) The security policy has a security profile attached that is blocking the traffic
B) The zones are misconfigured on the interfaces
C) NAT is not configured
D) The firewall has no default route
Answer: A
Explanation:
When traffic matches a security policy with an allow action but still gets blocked, a security profile attached to that policy is the most likely cause. Security profiles including antivirus, anti-spyware, vulnerability protection, URL filtering, file blocking, or WildFire provide content inspection that can block traffic even when the security policy action is allow.
Security profiles operate as a second layer of inspection after the security policy allows the session. The policy grants permission for the traffic based on source, destination, application, and user, but profiles inspect the actual content and behavior. If a security profile detects a threat, vulnerability, malicious URL, or prohibited file type, it blocks or restricts the session despite the policy allow action.
The traffic log provides details about which security profile blocked the traffic. Looking at the traffic log entry, the «Action» column shows «deny» and additional columns indicate which profile triggered the block—for example, «URL Category» shows a blocked category, or «Threat/Content Name» identifies a specific threat. The detailed log view shows the profile and signature that caused the block.
To resolve this, administrators can either adjust the security profile configuration to be less restrictive, create exceptions for specific traffic, or remove the profile from the security policy if inspection isn’t required. The key is identifying which profile is blocking traffic and determining whether that block is appropriate for the organization’s security posture.
B would prevent traffic from matching the security policy at all. If zones were misconfigured, traffic wouldn’t match the Trust-to-Untrust policy and would either match a different policy or hit the default interzone deny rule. The scenario states traffic matches the correct policy, ruling out zone configuration issues.
C is unrelated to security policy blocking. NAT is a separate function from security policy enforcement. Traffic can be allowed or denied by security policy regardless of NAT configuration. If NAT were required but missing, symptoms would include routing issues or return traffic problems, not policy blocks.
D would cause routing failures preventing traffic from reaching the firewall’s egress interface, not security policy blocks. Without a default route, the firewall cannot forward traffic to unknown destinations, resulting in no route errors rather than security policy denials. The traffic log wouldn’t show a policy match if routing failed.
Question 78
An administrator needs to prevent users from accessing Facebook but allow access to Facebook’s content delivery network for legitimate applications. How should this be configured?
A) Block the entire facebook-base application in security policy
B) Create a security policy allowing facebook-base but blocking facebook-posting, facebook-chat, and other unwanted Facebook applications
C) Block all social-networking category applications
D) Use URL filtering to block facebook.com
Answer: B
Explanation:
Creating a security policy allowing facebook-base but blocking specific Facebook applications like facebook-posting and facebook-chat provides granular control enabling legitimate content delivery while preventing social networking activities. Palo Alto Networks App-ID identifies Facebook as multiple related applications with different functions.
The facebook-base application represents core Facebook functionality including the content delivery network that other applications may use for hosting images, videos, or other content. Many legitimate business applications and websites use Facebook’s CDN infrastructure for content delivery. Blocking facebook-base entirely could break these legitimate services.
By allowing facebook-base but explicitly denying other Facebook-related applications, administrators permit CDN access while blocking social networking activities. A security policy rule can specify facebook-posting, facebook-chat, facebook-video-upload, facebook-commenting, and facebook-mail as blocked applications while allowing facebook-base in a separate rule or by omission from the block rule.
This approach leverages App-ID’s application granularity. Palo Alto firewalls identify not just Facebook as a whole but specific functions within Facebook, enabling precise control. The application dependency view in the firewall shows relationships between facebook-base and other Facebook applications, helping administrators understand which apps depend on the base application.
A blocks all Facebook functionality including the CDN that legitimate applications depend on. Blocking facebook-base prevents access to Facebook’s content delivery infrastructure, potentially breaking websites and applications that host content on Facebook’s CDN. This overly restrictive approach disrupts legitimate business functions.
C is too broad and blocks all social networking applications including LinkedIn, Twitter, and others that may have legitimate business purposes. While this prevents Facebook access, it also blocks other platforms the organization may want to allow. Category-based blocking doesn’t provide the granularity needed for this requirement.
D using URL filtering to block facebook.com doesn’t address the requirement to allow CDN access. URL filtering operates on domain names and URLs rather than application functions. Blocking facebook.com prevents all Facebook-related access including CDN services that the organization wants to allow for legitimate applications.
Question 79
What is the correct order of operations for traffic processing on a Palo Alto Networks firewall?
A) Security Policy, NAT, Routing, Decryption
B) Routing, NAT, Security Policy, Decryption
C) Decryption, NAT, Routing, Security Policy
D) NAT, Routing, Decryption, Security Policy
Answer: C
Explanation:
The correct order of traffic processing is Decryption, NAT, Routing, Security Policy. Understanding this processing order is critical for effective policy configuration and troubleshooting because each stage affects how subsequent stages process the traffic.
Decryption occurs first when SSL Forward Proxy or SSH Proxy is configured. The firewall decrypts SSL/TLS or SSH sessions based on decryption policies before any other inspection. Decryption must happen early because subsequent stages need to inspect the actual traffic content, not just encrypted packets. Without early decryption, App-ID, threat prevention, and content inspection cannot function effectively.
NAT comes second after decryption. NAT policies are evaluated and applied based on pre-NAT addresses (source and destination IPs before translation). NAT can change source addresses, destination addresses, or both. The post-NAT addresses are used in subsequent processing stages including routing and security policy evaluation.
Routing happens third using post-NAT destination addresses. The firewall performs a route lookup to determine the egress interface and next hop for the traffic. This routing decision determines the destination zone, which is essential for security policy matching. Virtual routers and policy-based forwarding are applied at this stage.
Security Policy evaluation occurs fourth and last in this sequence. Policies are matched based on zones (determined by routing), post-NAT addresses, applications (identified by App-ID), users, and other criteria. The security policy determines whether traffic is allowed or denied and which security profiles are applied for content inspection.
A has the order completely wrong with security policy before NAT and routing. Security policies use post-NAT addresses and zones determined by routing, so policy evaluation cannot happen before these stages. Decryption also must occur before policy evaluation for App-ID to identify encrypted application traffic.
B places routing before NAT, which is incorrect. Routing decisions depend on post-NAT destination addresses. If routing occurred before NAT, the firewall would route based on original destination addresses, potentially sending traffic to the wrong interface. NAT must be applied before routing decisions are made.
D places NAT before decryption, which is incorrect. While this seems logical since NAT changes addresses, decryption must happen first to enable proper application identification and content inspection in all subsequent stages. Decryption is always the first major processing step for encrypted traffic.
Question 80
An administrator configures User-ID but users are not being identified in traffic logs. The firewall can communicate with the domain controller. What should be verified first?
A) That security policies reference user groups
B) That the User-ID agent is monitoring the correct security event logs on the domain controller
C) That GlobalProtect is installed on client devices
D) That NAT is configured correctly
Answer: B
Explanation:
Verifying that the User-ID agent is monitoring the correct security event logs on the domain controller is the first troubleshooting step when users aren’t being identified. The agent must be configured to read authentication events from the appropriate logs to map users to IP addresses.
User-ID works by monitoring authentication events on domain controllers or other directory servers. When users log in, the domain controller generates security event logs containing the username and source IP address. The User-ID agent reads these logs (typically Event ID 4768 for Kerberos authentication or Event ID 4624 for successful logon events) and sends user-to-IP mappings to the firewall.
Common configuration issues include monitoring the wrong log (monitoring Application log instead of Security log), insufficient permissions for the service account reading logs, or incorrect log filtering preventing the agent from seeing authentication events. The agent configuration specifies which logs to monitor and which events to capture.
Verification involves checking the User-ID agent’s monitored server configuration ensuring security logs are specified, reviewing agent logs for errors indicating log access problems, and using the «Monitor» tab in the User-ID agent to confirm it’s receiving authentication events. If events aren’t being captured, the agent cannot create user mappings regardless of other configuration correctness.
A is relevant for policy enforcement but not for initial user identification. Security policies referencing user groups determine whether user-based rules are applied, but users must first be identified in traffic logs. If users aren’t appearing in logs at all, the issue is with user mapping, not policy configuration.
C is unrelated to basic User-ID functionality. GlobalProtect provides VPN and host information profiles but isn’t required for User-ID to function. User-ID identifies users through domain controller authentication events, LDAP queries, or other methods independent of GlobalProtect. Users on the internal network should be identified without GlobalProtect.
D is unrelated to user identification. NAT changes IP addresses for routing purposes but doesn’t affect the firewall’s ability to map users to IP addresses. User-ID mappings use pre-NAT addresses, and NAT configuration doesn’t impact whether users appear in traffic logs.
Question 81
A company wants to allow employees to access their internal web application from home using SSL VPN via GlobalProtect. What are the minimum required components?
A) GlobalProtect Gateway only
B) GlobalProtect Portal and GlobalProtect Gateway
C) GlobalProtect Portal only
D) Only security policies allowing the traffic
Answer: B
Explanation:
GlobalProtect Portal and GlobalProtect Gateway are both required minimum components for SSL VPN remote access. These components serve different but complementary functions in establishing and maintaining remote user connections to internal resources.
The GlobalProtect Portal provides client configuration and serves as the distribution point for the GlobalProtect client software. When remote users first connect, they access the portal (typically https://portal.company.com) where they authenticate and receive client configuration settings. The portal delivers information about available gateways, authentication methods, split tunneling settings, and client options.
The GlobalProtect Gateway establishes the actual VPN tunnel and handles encrypted traffic from remote clients. After obtaining configuration from the portal, the client connects to a gateway (which may be the same physical firewall or a different one) to establish the VPN tunnel. The gateway authenticates users, assigns IP addresses from a pool, applies security policies, and forwards traffic to internal resources.
Both components must be configured with certificates for SSL encryption, authentication profiles for user validation, and appropriate network settings. The portal needs a URL that clients can access from the internet, and the gateway needs external interfaces accessible to remote users. Portal and gateway can be hosted on the same firewall or distributed across multiple firewalls for scale and redundancy.
A is incomplete because the gateway alone cannot provide client configuration. Clients need to receive configuration information about which gateway to connect to, authentication methods, and tunnel settings. Without a portal, clients have no way to obtain this configuration or download client software.
C is insufficient because the portal alone cannot establish VPN tunnels. While the portal provides configuration, actual VPN connectivity requires a gateway to terminate tunnels and forward traffic. Users would receive configuration from the portal but have no functional gateway to connect to for VPN access.
D is far too simplistic. While security policies are necessary to allow traffic from the VPN tunnel to internal resources, GlobalProtect infrastructure (portal and gateway) must be configured first. Security policies cannot create VPN tunnels or provide remote access functionality without the underlying GlobalProtect components.
Question 82
An administrator notices high CPU utilization on the management plane. Which activity is most likely causing this?
A) High volumes of transit traffic
B) Frequent policy commits and configuration changes
C) Application identification of encrypted traffic
D) NAT translations
Answer: B
Explanation:
Frequent policy commits and configuration changes cause high management plane CPU utilization because these operations involve validating configuration, compiling policies, and distributing changes to data plane processes. Commits are management plane intensive operations that can temporarily spike CPU usage.
The management plane handles administrative functions including configuration management, logging, reporting, and communication with external services. When administrators commit configuration changes, the management plane validates the configuration syntax and logic, compiles security policies and NAT rules into efficient data structures, updates routing tables, and synchronizes changes with high availability peers if configured.
Large configuration commits with extensive policy sets consume significant CPU resources. Commits involving thousands of security policies or address objects require substantial processing to validate dependencies, check for conflicts, and compile into optimized rule bases. Automated systems making frequent commits, improperly configured configuration management tools, or administrators repeatedly committing small changes can create sustained management plane load.
Symptoms of management plane CPU exhaustion include slow web interface responsiveness, delayed commit operations, management API timeouts, and delayed log processing. Best practices include batching configuration changes into fewer larger commits rather than many small commits, scheduling commits during maintenance windows, and optimizing policy sets by removing unused rules and consolidating objects.
A affects data plane CPU, not management plane. Transit traffic processing including application identification, threat inspection, and content scanning occurs on data plane processors. High traffic volumes consume data plane resources but have minimal impact on management plane CPU which handles administrative functions separate from traffic processing.
C is a data plane function consuming data plane resources. Application identification analyzes traffic patterns, protocol behavior, and transaction characteristics to identify applications. This processing happens on data plane processors handling packet forwarding and deep packet inspection, not on the management plane handling administrative tasks.
D occurs on the data plane as part of session establishment and packet forwarding. NAT translation involves modifying IP addresses and port numbers in packet headers as traffic flows through the firewall. These operations consume data plane processing capacity but don’t significantly impact management plane CPU.
Question 83
What is the purpose of the application override policy in Palo Alto Networks firewalls?
A) To bypass security policy enforcement
B) To force traffic matching specific criteria to be identified as a particular application, bypassing normal App-ID
C) To override user authentication
D) To disable all security features
Answer: B
Explanation:
Application override policy forces traffic matching specific criteria (protocol, port, source, destination) to be identified as a particular application, bypassing the normal App-ID identification process. This feature is necessary for specific scenarios where App-ID cannot correctly identify applications or when immediate identification is required.
App-ID normally identifies applications through deep packet inspection analyzing traffic behavior, protocol decodes, and heuristics. This process requires multiple packets and may take time to conclusively identify applications. In some cases, custom or proprietary applications aren’t in the App-ID database, or applications use non-standard ports requiring manual classification.
Application override defines traffic based on layer 3 and layer 4 parameters (IP addresses, ports, protocols) and assigns it to a specific application without App-ID analysis. For example, custom_erp_app on TCP port 7777 between specific IP ranges can be classified immediately without waiting for App-ID. This enables security policy enforcement based on the application name even when App-ID cannot identify it.
Use cases include internal custom applications not in the App-ID database, troubleshooting scenarios where App-ID misidentifies applications, and latency-sensitive applications requiring immediate classification rather than waiting for App-ID’s multi-packet analysis. Application override should be used sparingly as it bypasses the sophisticated identification capabilities that make App-ID effective.
A is incorrect because application override doesn’t bypass security policy—it enables security policy by providing application identification. Security policies still evaluate and enforce rules based on the overridden application name. Application override makes policy enforcement more effective by ensuring correct application identification.
C is unrelated to application override functionality. User authentication is handled by User-ID, LDAP integration, or GlobalProtect, not by application override policies. Application override specifically addresses application identification, not authentication or user identity management.
D is completely wrong. Application override doesn’t disable security features; it enhances security policy effectiveness by ensuring correct application identification for custom or difficult-to-identify applications. All security profiles and enforcement mechanisms continue operating normally with overridden applications.
Question 84
A company implements a new security policy to block file transfers via webmail but allow web browsing. Which application should be blocked in the security policy?
A) web-browsing
B) gmail-base
C) gmail-enterprise
D) gmail-file-transfer
Answer: D
Explanation:
The gmail-file-transfer application specifically represents file attachment upload and download functions within Gmail webmail. Blocking this granular application prevents users from transferring files via Gmail while still allowing access to email reading, composing, and other webmail functions.
Palo Alto Networks App-ID provides granular identification of web-based applications including breaking down major applications like Gmail into component functions. Gmail is identified as multiple related applications: gmail-base (core email viewing and composition), gmail-chat (instant messaging within Gmail), gmail-file-transfer (uploading and downloading attachments), and gmail-enterprise (Google Workspace administrative functions).
This granularity enables precise security policies. Organizations can allow employees to read and send email for business communication while preventing file transfers that could exfiltrate data or introduce malware. A security policy blocking gmail-file-transfer while allowing gmail-base or even allowing the entire gmail application group except gmail-file-transfer achieves this objective.
The policy configuration creates a deny rule specifically for gmail-file-transfer matched before any allow rules for broader web access. Alternatively, an allow rule for Gmail can explicitly exclude gmail-file-transfer. Traffic logs show when users attempt file transfers and policy blocks them, providing visibility into potential data exfiltration attempts or policy violations.
A is too broad and blocks all web browsing including legitimate business activities. The web-browsing application represents general HTTP/HTTPS web traffic. Blocking this application prevents access to all websites, not just file transfer functionality within webmail. The requirement is specifically to block file transfers while allowing normal web access.
B would block core Gmail functionality including reading and composing email. Gmail-base is the fundamental application for Gmail webmail access. Blocking gmail-base prevents accessing Gmail at all, which exceeds the requirement. Users need email access; only file transfer functionality should be restricted.
C is unrelated to personal Gmail file transfers. Gmail-enterprise represents Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) administrative functions for enterprise customers. This application is specific to organizational Google Workspace management and doesn’t control file transfers in standard Gmail. Blocking it doesn’t achieve the objective.
Question 85
An administrator needs to create a security policy that allows only specific users in the Finance group to access the accounting server. Which components must be configured for this policy?
A) Source zone, destination zone, and application only
B) Source zone, destination zone, application, and User-ID integration with the Finance group specified
C) Destination zone and port number only
D) NAT policy only
Answer: B
Explanation:
A security policy restricting access to specific user groups requires source zone, destination zone, application identification, and User-ID integration with the Finance group specified in the policy. All these components work together to create a comprehensive, user-aware security rule.
Zones define where traffic originates and terminates. The policy specifies the source zone (typically Trust or internal zone where users connect) and destination zone (typically where the accounting server resides, such as a DMZ or Server zone). Zone-based policies are fundamental to Palo Alto Networks’ security model.
User-ID integration enables the firewall to identify which users or groups are generating traffic. The firewall must be configured with User-ID to map IP addresses to usernames through domain controller monitoring, LDAP queries, or other mechanisms. Once user identification is working, security policies can include users or groups as match criteria.
The Finance group must be specified in the policy’s Source User field. Groups can be imported from Active Directory or other directory services through User-ID. The policy matches only when traffic comes from users who are members of the Finance group, providing granular access control based on organizational roles and responsibilities.
Application identification ensures that only legitimate accounting application traffic is permitted. Rather than allowing all traffic on specific ports, specifying the application (for example, custom-accounting-app or specific database applications) ensures that only intended traffic types are permitted, reducing attack surface and preventing port misuse.
A lacks user identification which is essential for restricting access to specific groups. Without User-ID and group specification, the policy cannot differentiate between Finance users and other users from the same source zone. The policy would apply to all users rather than restricting access to the Finance group as required.
C is insufficient and represents port-based filtering rather than comprehensive security policy. Port numbers alone don’t provide application awareness, zone segmentation, or user identification. Modern security requires considering multiple policy components including users, applications, and zones—not just destination and ports.
D is completely unrelated to security policy. NAT policies handle address translation for routing purposes but don’t control access or enforce security policies. NAT and security policies are separate, complementary functions. NAT doesn’t restrict access based on users, applications, or other security criteria.
Question 86
A firewall is configured with multiple virtual systems (VSYSs). Each VSYS has its own set of zones and policies. How are interfaces assigned to virtual systems?
A) Interfaces automatically belong to all VSYSs
B) Interfaces are assigned to specific VSYSs and can only be used by that VSYS
C) Interfaces cannot be used with virtual systems
D) All VSYSs share all interfaces without assignment
Answer: B
Explanation:
Interfaces are assigned to specific virtual systems and can only be used by that VSYS, creating complete logical separation between virtual firewalls. Interface assignment is a fundamental aspect of virtual system architecture ensuring traffic separation and security boundaries between VSYSs.
Virtual systems provide multi-tenancy by creating multiple independent firewall instances on a single physical appliance. Each VSYS has its own zones, security policies, NAT rules, objects, routing tables, and administrative domains. For this logical separation to be effective, network interfaces must be dedicated to specific virtual systems.
Interface assignment happens during VSYS creation or through the Network tab. Administrators allocate physical or sub-interfaces to each VSYS. Once assigned, an interface belongs exclusively to that virtual system. Traffic received on an interface can only be processed by the VSYS owning that interface, and policies within that VSYS can only reference zones on interfaces assigned to it.
This architecture enables scenarios like service providers hosting multiple customers on one firewall, enterprises separating departments with different security requirements, or managed security service providers offering dedicated firewall instances to clients. Each VSYS operates independently with no visibility into other VSYSs’ configurations or traffic.
A would completely defeat the purpose of virtual systems by eliminating traffic separation. If interfaces automatically belonged to all VSYSs, traffic would potentially traverse multiple virtual systems’ policies, creating security and management complexity. Automatic interface sharing contradicts the isolation model that makes virtual systems useful.
C is factually incorrect. Virtual systems are specifically designed to support multi-tenancy on shared hardware including interfaces. Interfaces are core to VSYS functionality as they provide the network connectivity for each virtual firewall. Without interface assignment, virtual systems couldn’t process traffic.
D creates security problems by mixing traffic from different VSYSs. Shared interfaces without assignment would allow traffic intended for one VSYS to potentially be processed by another VSYS’s policies. This violates the isolation and security boundaries that virtual systems are designed to provide.
Question 87
What is the primary purpose of Palo Alto Networks WildFire service?
A) To provide URL filtering categories
B) To analyze unknown files in a cloud-based sandbox and generate signatures for malware
C) To accelerate network throughput
D) To replace antivirus signatures entirely
Answer: B
Explanation:
WildFire analyzes unknown files in a cloud-based sandbox environment and generates signatures for newly discovered malware, providing protection against zero-day threats and advanced malware. This cloud-based threat intelligence service extends the firewall’s malware prevention capabilities beyond known signatures.
When the firewall encounters a file during traffic inspection, it checks the file hash against local signatures and WildFire’s threat intelligence database. If the file is unknown (hash not seen before), the firewall can forward the file to Wild Fire for analysis. WildFire executes the file in multiple virtual environments observing its behavior for malicious activities.
The analysis includes static analysis examining file structure and characteristics, dynamic analysis executing the file and monitoring system interactions, and machine learning classification identifying malicious patterns. If WildFire determines the file is malicious, it generates a signature and distributes it to all WildFire subscribers typically within 30-60 minutes.
This rapid signature generation protects organizations against new malware variants before traditional antivirus vendors release updates. The cloud-based architecture provides unlimited analysis capacity and computational resources unavailable on individual firewalls. WildFire subscriptions include different tiers offering various analysis speeds and features.
A is incorrect as URL filtering is a separate service provided by PAN-DB (Palo Alto Networks URL Filtering database). While both are cloud-based security services, WildFire focuses on file analysis and malware detection, not URL categorization. URL filtering and WildFire address different threat vectors.
C is unrelated to WildFire’s function. WildFire analyzes files for malware; it doesn’t affect network throughput or acceleration. Traffic forwarding performance is determined by firewall hardware capacity and data plane processing, not by WildFire analysis which occurs out-of-band for inline blocking scenarios.
D misrepresents WildFire’s role. WildFire complements antivirus signatures rather than replacing them. The firewall uses antivirus signatures for known malware providing immediate blocking without analysis delays. WildFire handles unknown files where signatures don’t exist yet, working together with antivirus for comprehensive malware protection.
Question 88
An administrator notices that application identification is showing «incomplete» in traffic logs for many sessions. What does this indicate?
A) The applications are being blocked by security policy
B) The sessions ended before App-ID could fully identify the application
C) App-ID is disabled on the firewall
D) The firewall needs to be restarted
Answer: B
Explanation:
Sessions showing «incomplete» in traffic logs indicate they ended before App-ID could fully identify the application. App-ID requires analyzing multiple packets to conclusively determine the application, and sessions terminating prematurely don’t provide sufficient data for complete identification.
App-ID operates by examining various packet characteristics including protocol decodes, application signatures, transaction analysis, and behavioral heuristics. Initial packets establish the session and trigger App-ID analysis. Subsequent packets provide additional information enabling confident application identification. This multi-packet analysis typically completes within the first few packets but requires the session to remain active.
Short-lived sessions, connection failures, or client timeouts can cause incomplete identification. For example, a client attempting to connect to an unavailable server sends SYN packets but receives no response. The session ends after retransmit timeouts before any application data is exchanged. App-ID sees the connection attempt but lacks application-layer data for identification.
Incomplete identification also occurs with port scans where attackers probe many ports with minimal packet exchanges. Each connection attempt generates a session but terminates immediately providing no application context. The high number of incomplete sessions can indicate reconnaissance activity or network problems causing connection failures.
While incomplete sessions are normal for failed connections, excessive incomplete sessions warrant investigation. Network connectivity problems, misconfigured services, or security attacks can manifest as unusual patterns of incomplete identifications. Monitoring incomplete session trends helps identify infrastructure issues or security incidents.
A is incorrect because blocking happens after application identification based on security policy. Blocked sessions show the identified application and block action in logs. Incomplete status specifically indicates identification couldn’t finish, not that the session was blocked by policy. Blocked sessions have complete logs showing the blocking reason.
C is demonstrably false because if App-ID were disabled, traffic logs wouldn’t show application information at all. The presence of «incomplete» status proves App-ID is active and attempting identification. Disabled App-ID results in all traffic being classified as unknown-tcp or unknown-udp without identification attempts.
D is unnecessary and incorrect. Incomplete sessions are a normal operational state for short-lived or failed connections, not an indicator of firewall malfunction. Restarting the firewall doesn’t address the underlying cause (sessions ending too quickly) and would disrupt network operations without solving the incomplete identification issue.
Question 89
What is the purpose of Security Profile Groups in Palo Alto Networks firewalls?
A) To group security policies together for easier management
B) To bundle multiple security profiles (antivirus, anti-spyware, vulnerability, URL filtering) into a single object for attachment to security policies
C) To create groups of users for authentication
D) To organize zones into logical groups
Answer: B
Explanation:
Security Profile Groups bundle multiple security profiles including antivirus, anti-spyware, vulnerability protection, URL filtering, file blocking, and WildFire analysis into a single named object that can be attached to security policies. This simplifies policy management by applying comprehensive security inspection through one profile group reference.
Without profile groups, administrators must individually attach each security profile to security policies. For comprehensive protection, a typical policy might need antivirus, anti-spyware, vulnerability protection, URL filtering, file blocking, and WildFire profiles attached separately. Managing these six profile attachments across hundreds of policies becomes cumbersome and error-prone.
Security Profile Groups solve this by creating named bundles like «Strict-Security» or «Standard-Protection» that include configured versions of multiple profiles. Administrators select which profiles to include and which action levels (alert, block, etc.) to apply. Once created, the profile group is attached to security policies as a single object.
This approach provides consistency and simplification. All policies using the «Strict-Security» profile group receive identical protection configurations. Updating security profiles across multiple policies requires modifying only the profile group definition rather than editing each policy individually. Profile groups are created under Objects > Security Profile Groups.
A confuses profile groups with policy organization features like tags or folders. Security policies can be organized using tags, names, or rulebase sections, but this is separate from security profile functionality. Profile groups specifically bundle inspection profiles, not policies themselves.
C describes user groups used for authentication and policy matching, not security profile groups. User groups are imported from directory services or defined locally to match users in security policies. Security profile groups are completely different objects that bundle threat prevention and content inspection profiles.
D describes zone grouping or zone protection, which is different from security profile groups. Zones can be organized and referenced in policies, and zone protection profiles defend against network-layer attacks. Security profile groups bundle application-layer inspection profiles and aren’t related to zone organization.
Question 90
An administrator needs to configure the firewall to prevent credential theft by blocking submission of corporate usernames and passwords to external websites. Which feature accomplishes this?
A) URL Filtering
B) Data Filtering profile with credential detection patterns
C) Application Override
D) NAT policy
Answer: B
Explanation:
Data Filtering profiles with credential detection patterns prevent credential theft by scanning HTTP POST submissions for corporate username patterns and blocking transmissions to unauthorized external websites. This prevents users from entering corporate credentials into phishing sites or unauthorized cloud services.
Data Filtering profiles inspect file transfers and data submissions looking for sensitive information patterns. Credential detection specifically searches for username patterns matching corporate formats (like firstname.lastname or employee ID formats) combined with password field submissions. When corporate credential patterns are detected in traffic destined for external sites, the profile can alert or block the transmission.
Configuration involves creating a Data Filtering profile defining credential patterns using regular expressions matching corporate username formats. The profile specifies which applications to inspect (web-browsing, various SaaS applications) and actions to take when credentials are detected. Attaching this profile to security policies covering outbound internet access enables protection.
This feature defends against both phishing attacks where users unknowingly submit credentials to fake sites and shadow IT scenarios where employees use corporate credentials for unauthorized cloud services. Blocking credential submission to non-approved destinations reduces account compromise risks and unauthorized data access.
C is completely unrelated. Application Override forces traffic to be identified as specific applications based on port and protocol but has no content inspection or credential detection capabilities. Application Override affects application identification for policy matching but doesn’t prevent data exfiltration or credential theft.
D has no relationship to credential protection. NAT policies translate IP addresses for routing purposes but don’t inspect traffic content or detect sensitive data. NAT operates at the network layer changing addresses in packet headers without examining application-layer data like credentials or form submissions.