Free PCNSA Exam Questions -2025 Updated

D. It requires a valid URL Filtering license.

This is incorrect. DNS Security and URL Filtering are distinct, separately licensed services, although they can be used together for layered security.

E. It requires an active subscription to a third-party DNS Security service.

This is incorrect. The DNS Security service is a first-party solution developed and maintained by Palo Alto Networks, leveraging its own threat intelligence infrastructure.

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1. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). DNS Security Datasheet.

Page 1, "Highlights" section: "Applies predictive analytics, machine learning, and automation to block attacks that use DNS." (Supports options A and C).

Page 1, "Prevent C2 and Data Theft" section: "Protections for DNS tunneling, DGA, and more..." (Supports option A).

Page 2, "Licensing Information" section: "The DNS Security subscription is available as a standalone subscription, as part of the Threat Prevention subscription..." While available standalone, its inclusion with Threat Prevention is a primary characteristic and common deployment model, making option B a valid characteristic of its licensing structure.

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide, Version 10.1.

Section: "DNS Security" > "DNS Security Concepts": "To use DNS Security, you must purchase and install a DNS Security license. The DNS Security license is included with the Threat Prevention (TP) license." (Directly supports option B).

Section: "DNS Security" > "DNS Security Analytics": "The DNS Security service uses machine learning and predictive analytics to provide real-time DNS request analysis..." (Supports option C).

3. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). PCNSA Study Guide.

Domain 2: "Deploy and Configure Security Components" > Objective 2.2: This section details the security subscriptions, clarifying that DNS Security is bundled with the Threat Prevention license and is distinct from the URL Filtering license. It also describes the service's use of ML, predictive analytics, and detection of DGA and DNS tunneling. (Supports A, B, C and refutes D).

B. an additional subscription free of charge: The service is not an "additional subscription." It is a feature available to all customers who have a valid, standard support account.

C. a firewall device running with a minimum version of PAN-OS 10.1: This statement is factually correct but incomplete. It omits Prisma Access, which is also a supported platform for the EDL Hosting Service.

D. an additional paid subscription: This is incorrect. The EDL Hosting Service is provided free of charge to customers with a valid support account.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide Version 11.0. "Objects > External Dynamic Lists > External Dynamic List Hosting Service". The guide states, "The EDL Hosting Service is available for all supported Palo Alto Networks firewalls and Prisma Access." It also clarifies, "The EDL Hosting Service is available free of charge to all Palo Alto Networks customers with a valid support account."

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® New Features Guide Version 10.1. "Policy > External Dynamic List Hosting Service". This document confirms the feature's introduction: "The External Dynamic List (EDL) Hosting service is a new cloud-based solution...This feature is introduced in PAN-OS 10.1." This supports the fact that option C is a valid but incomplete requirement.

B. Reset both: While this action also preserves server resources, it sends a reset to the client as well. This notifies the source that a firewall is present, which is often undesirable from a security standpoint as it aids in network reconnaissance.

D. Deny: In the context of a configurable Security policy rule action, Deny and Drop are functionally identical; both silently discard the packet. However, Drop is the specific action name listed in the policy configuration, making it the more precise term.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide 10.2, "Security Policy Actions".

Page/Section: In the chapter on Security Policies, the section "Security Policy Actions" describes the different termination actions.

Quote/Content for 'Drop': "Silently drops the traffic; does not send a response to the host or server. Use a drop action to thwart network scanning attempts because it provides no indication of a live port." This supports Drop as a method to preserve resources by preventing engagement.

Quote/Content for 'Reset server': "Sends a TCP reset to the server-side of the connection. This option is useful for applications that do not gracefully handle a client-side reset." This confirms it is a distinct action focused on clearing the server's state.

2. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide 9.1, "Take Action on a Security Policy Rule".

Page/Section: In the chapter "Create and Manage Security Policy Rules", the section on actions details the behavior of each option.

Content: The guide explains that a drop action prevents the session from being established, thereby conserving server resources. It also describes the reset-server action as a method to terminate the session specifically on the server side, which directly addresses the goal of clearing server-side sockets.

A. A URL category matches traffic based on the website's URL, not the specific application (App-ID) being used for file sharing.

B. This is also a URL category. It is not a dynamic application-based object and would not automatically incorporate new file-sharing App-IDs.

C. An application group is a static list of specific applications. It would require manual updates to add new file-sharing App-IDs.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2. "Objects > Application Objects > Create an Application Filter". The guide states, "An application filter dynamically groups applications based on application attributes... When a content update includes a new application that matches the attributes you defined for the filter, the new application is automatically added to the filter."

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). PCNSA Study Guide. "Chapter 4: Securing Traffic with Security Policies". This guide contrasts static application groups with dynamic application filters, explaining that filters are the appropriate tool when the goal is to create a policy that automatically adapts to new applications matching specific criteria, such as a subcategory.

3. Palo Alto Networks TechDocs. "Application Filter". This document explicitly details the dynamic nature of application filters: "Because an application filter is a dynamic object, you don’t have to update it when a content release includes new applications that match the filter criteria."

C. IS-IS: Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) is a standardized routing protocol, but it is not supported by the PAN-OS virtual router.

D. EIGRP: Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) is a Cisco-proprietary protocol and is therefore not supported on Palo Alto Networks firewalls.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2. In the "Networking > Virtual Routers > Dynamic Routing Protocols" section, the document explicitly states, "The firewall supports the following dynamic routing protocols: BGP, OSPFv2, OSPFv3, RIPv1, and RIPv2."

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide 10.1. In "Module 3: Simplifying the Network with Routing > Virtual Routers," the guide lists the supported dynamic routing protocols as BGP, OSPF, and RIP.

A. It was blocked by the Vulnerability Protection profile action.

This is incorrect because the log "Type" is spyware. A block by a Vulnerability Protection profile would result in a log entry with the "Type" of vulnerability.

B. It was blocked by the Anti-Virus Security profile action.

This is incorrect because the log "Type" is spyware. A block by an Anti-Virus profile would result in a log entry with the "Type" of virus.

D. It was blocked by the Security policy action.

This is incorrect. The Security policy rule "Outbound-Traffic" permitted the session, which then triggered inspection by the attached Security Profiles. The block action was a result of the profile's threat detection, not the policy rule's primary action.

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1. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2.

Section: Monitor > Logs > Threat Log Fields.

Content: This section defines the fields in the Threat log. The "Type" field is described as the "Subtype of the threat log," with possible values including spyware, vulnerability, and virus, directly corresponding to the Security Profile that generated the log. This confirms that a spyware type log is generated by the Anti-Spyware profile.

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide.

Section: Chapter 5, "Decryption and Threat Prevention," sub-section "Anti-Spyware."

Content: The guide explains that the Anti-Spyware profile protects against malicious spyware and command-and-control (C2) traffic. It states that when the firewall detects a threat matching a signature in the profile, it takes the configured action (e.g., block) and generates a Threat log entry of the spyware type.

3. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). Firewall 10.2 Essentials: Configuration and Management (EDU-210) Student Guide.

Section: Module 8, "Denying Threats Using Security Profiles."

Content: This courseware details how Security Profiles are attached to Security policy rules to inspect allowed traffic. It clarifies that a Threat log is generated when a signature is matched within a profile (such as Anti-Spyware), and the action in the log reflects the profile's configuration, not the parent Security policy rule's action.

C. Tap: A Tap interface operates in a passive, listen-only mode. It receives a copy of traffic from a switch's SPAN port and cannot be used to block or modify the live traffic stream.

E. HA: High Availability (HA) is a feature for firewall redundancy, not an interface deployment method for inspecting transit traffic. Dedicated HA interfaces are used for synchronization and state-sharing between firewalls.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2

Virtual Wire: "A virtual wire deployment simplifies installation because you can insert the firewall into an existing topology... You can apply Security, DoS Protection, and QoS policies on the virtual wire to control traffic and protect your network." (Reference: Chapter: Plan Your Network Deployment > Firewall Interface Deployment Methods > Virtual Wire Deployment)

Layer 2: "In a Layer 2 deployment, the firewall is installed transparently on a network segment... You can enable traffic inspection by configuring Security, DoS Protection, and QoS policies..." (Reference: Chapter: Plan Your Network Deployment > Firewall Interface Deployment Methods > Layer 2 Deployment)

Layer 3: "In a Layer 3 deployment, the firewall routes traffic between multiple ports... The firewall protects the network by inspecting all traffic that it routes and applying Security, DoS Protection, and QoS policies." (Reference: Chapter: Plan Your Network Deployment > Firewall Interface Deployment Methods > Layer 3 Deployment)

Tap: "In tap mode, the firewall monitors traffic flowing across a network... Because the firewall is not in-line with traffic, a tap deployment is for monitoring only; you cannot use it to control traffic." (Reference: Chapter: Plan Your Network Deployment > Firewall Interface Deployment Methods > Tap Deployment)

A. This describes the "drop" action, which silently discards packets without sending any notification to the client or server.

B. The App-ID database is used for application identification, not for defining default deny actions within a specific Security policy rule.

C. This describes the "reset-both" action, which sends a TCP reset packet to both the client and the server, not just the client.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.1. "Objects > Security Policy > Actions". In this section, the guide specifies the behavior for the "Deny" action: "For TCP, the firewall sends a TCP reset to the client-side of the connection... The Deny action is a 'graceful' close to the session because a notification is sent to the client."

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2020). Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide. Module 4: "Securing Traffic with Security Policies". The guide states, "Deny: For TCP traffic, this action sends a TCP reset to the client. For UDP traffic, it sends an ICMP Port Unreachable message to the client." This confirms that "deny" is a client-side notification action.

A. HIP profile: A Host Information Profile (HIP) is used to assess the security posture of an endpoint, not to group or control applications based on their function or category.

B. Application group: An Application Group is a static list of manually selected applications. While it could be used, it is not dynamic and would require manual updates if new office-program applications are added.

C. URL category: A URL Category is used for web filtering to control access to websites based on their URLs. It does not group applications identified by App-ID.

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1. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Objects > Application Filters": "Create an Application Filter to dynamically group applications based on application attributes that you define: Category, Subcategory, Technology, Risk, and Characteristic. The firewall dynamically populates an application filter with applications that match the attributes you define. When Palo Alto Networks adds new applications with attributes that match your filter, the firewall automatically adds the new applications to your filter and to any policy that uses the filter." (This directly supports the use of Application Filters for subcategories).

2. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Objects > Application Groups": "An application group is a static list of applications that you can use in policies." (This confirms Application Groups are static, making them less suitable than dynamic filters).

3. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Objects > Security Profiles > URL Filtering": "URL Filtering enables you to safely enable web access and control the sites users can access." (This clarifies that URL categories are for web access, not application control).

4. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "GlobalProtect > Host Information": "A Host Information Profile (HIP) is a report of the security status of an end-user’s computer... You can use this information in a HIP object and then attach the object to a security policy to enforce access privileges based on the security of the endpoint." (This confirms HIP profiles are for endpoint posture assessment).

A. Application groups: These are collections of applications identified by App-ID, not just port numbers. They provide a more granular, Layer 7 classification.

C. Address groups: These are used to group IP addresses, subnets, or FQDNs, which relate to the source or destination of traffic, not the port.

D. Custom objects: This is too general. While you create custom service objects, the specific container for grouping them is a "Service Group."

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide, Release 10.1.

Section: Objects > Services

Content: "A service is a combination of a protocol and port that you can use in policies and other firewall functions... A service group is a collection of services that you can use to simplify rule creation and management." This directly states that services (port-based objects) are collected in service groups.

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PCNSA Study Guide.

Section: Module 3: Security and NAT Policies

Content: The guide explains the components of a security policy rule, explicitly defining the "Service" column as representing TCP/UDP ports. It further details that "Service Groups" are used to combine multiple service objects into a single entity for use in these rules.

A: This option is not restrictive because using any for the application allows all traffic, not just the specified web and SSH traffic.

B: This option is redundant. The web-browsing application-default group already includes the ssl application, so adding it separately is unnecessary.

D: This option is insecurely permissive. Using any for both source and destination zones allows traffic between all zones, violating the specific requirements.

1. Palo Alto Networks, "PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2": In the "Security Policy" chapter, the section "Security Policy Rule Components" details the need to specify source zones, destination zones, and applications to control traffic. This supports the structure of the correct rule in Option C.

2. Palo Alto Networks, "PCNSA Study Guide": Chapter 4, "Securing Traffic with Security Policies," emphasizes the best practice of creating specific rules. It states, "A best practice is to be as specific as possible when you define the applications that you want to allow or deny in a policy rule." This principle invalidates options A and D, which use any.

3. Palo Alto Networks, "PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2": In the "Objects" chapter, the section "Applications and Application Groups" explains that predefined application groups like web-browsing simplify rule creation. The web-browsing group inherently includes the ssl application, which makes its explicit inclusion in Option B redundant.

A. Blocking the entire category assigned to the website would result in blocking all other, correctly categorized websites within that same category, leading to excessive and unintended traffic denial.

D. Security policies are evaluated top-down. Placing a new "Deny" policy below the original "Allow" policy that is permitting the traffic would be ineffective, as the traffic would match the first "Allow" rule and policy evaluation would stop.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2: "URL Filtering" section, under "Configure URL Filtering". This section details how to create a URL Filtering profile and set actions for different categories, including custom categories. This supports the method described in option B.

2. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2: "Create a Custom URL Category" section. This guide explains: "For more granular control, you can create custom URL categories... and use them in a URL Filtering profile... to define policy for a specific set of URLs." This directly supports the first step in option B.

3. Palo Alto Networks Live Community, "How to Request a URL Category Change": This official resource outlines the process: "Go to https://urlfiltering.paloaltonetworks.com/. Enter the URL... If you do not agree with the categorization, click on 'Request Change'." This directly validates the procedure in option C.

4. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2: "Security Policy Rule Evaluation" section. The documentation states, "The firewall evaluates policy rules in order (from top to bottom) and the first rule that matches the traffic is applied." This principle confirms that the rule placement described in option D is incorrect.

B. To detonate files in a sandbox environment: This describes the function of the WildFire analysis profile, which forwards unknown files for sandboxing, not the primary role of a File Blocking profile.

C. To analyze file types: While the firewall does analyze files to determine their type, this is the mechanism, not the ultimate purpose. The purpose is to enforce a policy (block/allow) based on that analysis.

D. To block uploading and downloading of any type of files: This is too broad. The key value of a File Blocking profile is its granularity in controlling specific file types, not blocking all files indiscriminately.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2. "File Blocking Profiles". In the overview, the document states, "You can block files from being uploaded or downloaded based on the application, file type, and direction (upload or download). For example, you can prevent users from downloading executable files from a high-risk application, and prevent users from uploading specific file types to a file-sharing application."

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide. Chapter 6, "Securing Traffic with Security Profiles," Section: "File-Blocking Profiles". The guide explains, "File-Blocking profiles block or allow files from being transferred based on their file type, the application that is transferring them, and the direction of the transfer (upload or download)."

3. Palo Alto Networks. (2020). Firewall 10.0 Essentials: Configuration and Management (EDU-210). Module 6, "Securing Traffic with Security Profiles". The courseware details that File Blocking profiles are used to "control file transfers by type and application" and that the primary actions are "alert, block, and continue."

B. Traffic is being denied on the interzone-default policy.

While the default action is deny, this does not explain the absence of logs. If logging were enabled, denied traffic would still generate a log entry.

C. The Log Forwarding profile is not configured on the policy.

A Log Forwarding profile sends logs to external systems (e.g., Panorama, Syslog). Its absence does not prevent logs from being written to the firewall's local Traffic log.

D. The interzone-default policy is disabled by default.

This rule is enabled by default. It is the final rule in the policy evaluation and enforces the default-deny security posture for traffic between zones.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2: In the section "Security Policy," under the subsection "Default Security Rules," the documentation states: "By default, logging is not enabled for the default rules. To enable logging for traffic that matches a default rule, you must override it and select the Log at Session End check box." This directly supports the correct answer.

2. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2: The same section, "Default Security Rules," also clarifies the rule's action and state: "interzone-default — Controls traffic between zones of different types (for example, from the trust zone to the untrust zone). The default action is deny." This confirms the rule is active and its action is deny, making options B and D incorrect.

A. The log Type is spyware, not virus. An Anti-Virus profile block would be logged with a virus type.

C. The log Type is spyware, not vulnerability. A Vulnerability Protection profile block would be logged with a vulnerability type.

D. The traffic was inspected by a Security Profile, which only happens if the Security Policy rule's action is allow. The block came from the profile, not the policy itself.

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1. Palo Alto Networks, "PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2" (2021).

Section: Monitor > Logs > Threat Log

Details: The guide explains that the Threat log displays entries when traffic matches a Security Profile. The "Type" column in the log specifies the threat category, such as virus, spyware, or vulnerability, directly corresponding to the Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, and Vulnerability Protection profiles, respectively. This confirms that a log entry with type spyware originates from the Anti-Spyware profile.

2. Palo Alto Networks, "Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide, Version 2.0" (2021).

Section: Module 8: Monitor and Report, page 151.

Details: The study guide states, "The Threat log records all threats detected by the firewall’s security profiles, including Antivirus, Anti-Spyware, and Vulnerability Protection." This directly links the log type shown in the image to the specific Security Profile that generated it.

3. Palo Alto Networks, "Security Policy Actions" Documentation.

Section: Objects > Security Profiles

Details: Official documentation clarifies that Security Profiles are attached to Security Policy rules with an allow action to provide deeper inspection. The action in the Threat log (reset-both) is a result of the profile's configuration, not the parent Security Policy rule, which must be set to allow for profile inspection to occur.

A. Antivirus: This profile focuses on detecting and blocking malware, such as viruses, worms, and trojans, primarily within file transfers, not the exploit mechanisms themselves.

B. URL filtering: This profile controls access to websites by categorizing them and enforcing policies, but it does not inspect traffic for exploit attempts.

C. Anti-spyware: This profile is designed to detect and block command-and-control (C2) traffic from already-compromised hosts, not to prevent the initial exploit.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). Vulnerability Protection. PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide 10.2. "Vulnerability Protection security profiles stop attempts to exploit system flaws or gain unauthorized access to systems... Vulnerability Protection profiles protect against threats such as buffer overflows, illegal code execution, and other attempts to exploit system vulnerabilities."

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). PCNSA Study Guide. "Vulnerability Protection profiles protect against threats such as buffer overflows, illegal code execution, and other attempts to exploit system vulnerabilities." (Section: Identify the purpose of and use for security profiles).

3. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). Anti-Spyware. PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide 10.2. "Anti-Spyware security profiles block spyware on compromised hosts from trying to contact external command-and-control (C2) servers..."

4. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). Antivirus. PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide 10.2. "Antivirus security profiles protect against viruses, worms, and trojans, as well as other types of malware."

A. While Policy Optimizer can identify unused applications within existing App-ID rules, option C describes the broader and more fundamental task of identifying entirely unused policies.

B. Adding or changing a Log Forwarding profile is a standard function of the Security policy editor, not a feature within the Policy Optimizer workflow.

D. Policy Optimizer facilitates a manual, administrator-driven process for rule conversion; it does not automatically create disabled policies on a schedule.

1. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Use Policy Optimizer to Migrate to App-ID": The introduction states, "Policy Optimizer also helps you maintain the rulebase after the transition. Use Policy Optimizer to: ... Identify unused rules based on hit count."

2. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Identify Unused Security Rules" section: This section details the process: "To reduce the attack surface, remove unused rules from your Security policy rulebase. Policy Optimizer makes it easy to find rules that have not been hit for any length of time you specify." This directly supports the functionality described in option C.

3. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Clean Up Application-based Rules" section: This section describes the feature mentioned in option A, confirming it is a valid but distinct function from identifying completely unused rules: "you can use Policy Optimizer to find applications within a rule that traffic has not matched for a specified length of time."

A. Interzone: This rule type is for traffic that crosses a zone boundary, meaning the source and destination zones are different.

B. Universal: This rule matches traffic between any source and destination zone. It is too broad and not the specific type for traffic only within a zone.

D. Shadowed: This is a configuration status indicating a rule is placed after a broader rule that will always match the traffic first, making the shadowed rule ineffective. It is not a rule type.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide 11.0: In the section "Objects > Security Policy," the guide defines the three rule types. It states, "Intrazone rules apply to all matching traffic within a specified source zone (the source and destination zones are the same)." (Reference: Security Policy Concepts > Rule Type).

2. Palo Alto Networks PCNSA Study Guide: The "Security Policies" module explicitly defines the rule types. It clarifies that "Intrazone rules control traffic within a zone." (Reference: Module 4: Security Policies, Section: Security Policy Types).

3. Palo Alto Networks Documentation - Security Policy: The web documentation for Security Policy clearly distinguishes the rule types. It specifies that an intrazone rule is created when the source and destination zones are the same, while an interzone rule is for traffic between different zones. (Reference: PAN-OS and Panorama > Objects > Policies > Security > Security Policy).

A. Panorama manages an A/P HA pair as a logical unit. Updates are pushed to the pair, and the active firewall synchronizes the content to the passive peer to ensure consistency.

B. Active/Active (A/A) HA pairs do not use a "master device" concept for content updates; both firewalls are active, and Panorama manages the update synchronization for the cluster.

D. This describes an incorrect operational sequence. Content updates are deployed from Panorama to the firewalls. A "commit and push to Panorama" is not a subsequent action.

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1. Palo Alto Networks, "PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide" > "Manage New App-IDs" > "Deploying New App-IDs": The documentation frequently emphasizes the link between PAN-OS versions and content updates. It states, "Palo Alto Networks delivers new and updated App-IDs in weekly content releases. To use the latest App-IDs, you must install the content releases on your firewall." This implies a dependency that must be managed, and compatibility is the primary factor. The release notes are the official source for this compatibility information.

2. Palo Alto Networks, "Panorama™ Administrator's Guide" > "Manage and Monitor Firewalls" > "Deploy Updates to Firewalls, Log Collectors, and WildFire Appliances": This section details the process of deploying updates. It implicitly requires the administrator to select a compatible version. The guide states, "Before you begin, review the PAN-OS release notes to verify that the firewalls and appliances you plan to upgrade are compatible with the PAN-OS version you plan to install." This principle of checking release notes for compatibility applies to content updates as well as software updates.

3. Palo Alto Networks, "Content Release Notes" (Example: Applications and Threats Content Release 8845-8694): Every content release note document contains a "Details" or "Compatibility" section. For example, a note might explicitly state: "This content release is for PAN-OS 10.2 and later releases." This is the primary source document an administrator must check to confirm compatibility before deployment, directly supporting the correctness of option C.

A. Reset server – sends a TCP RST only to the server; the client browser receives no direct termination message.

B. Deny – sends TCP RSTs to both client and server; although the browser is informed, the action is not limited to the client and is therefore less specific than Reset Client.

C. Drop – silently discards packets; no RST is sent, so the browser is unaware of the termination.

1. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS 9.1 Administrator’s Guide, “Security Policy Rule Actions,” Table 13: Action Descriptions – Reset Client: “sends a TCP reset (RST) to the client only,” p. 550.

2. Palo Alto Networks TechDocs, “Set Rule Actions for Security Policies,” section “Reset Options” (doc ID: PAN-OS9-1PolicyActions).

3. Palo Alto Networks Education Services, PCNSA Official Courseware (EDU-210), Module 6 “Security Policies,” slide 52 – description of Allow, Deny, Drop, Reset-Client, Reset-Server actions.

A. The default behavior for a confirmed malicious threat like a virus is to block or alert, not to allow the traffic.

B. While many virus signatures have a default action of 'drop', it is not the only possible action. The action could also be a 'reset' variant. This option is an oversimplification and not universally correct.

D. This describes the 'alert' action. While some low-severity threat signatures may default to 'alert', confirmed viruses typically have a more severe default blocking action like 'drop' or 'reset'.

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1. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 11.0 (Nova), "Antivirus Security Profile". In the section describing actions, it states: "For each protocol, the default action is default, which means that the firewall uses the default action that is predefined for the virus signature. For each threat signature, Palo Alto Networks defines a default action." This directly supports that the signature's own default action is used.

2. Palo Alto Networks, PCNSA Study Guide (EDU-210), Module 6: "Securing Traffic with Security Profiles". The guide explains that for Antivirus profiles, "The default action for each decoder is default. The default action uses the predefined action for each signature." This confirms that the action is determined on a per-signature basis.

A. This describes a "commit" operation, which applies the staged changes from the candidate configuration to the active running configuration.

C. This statement is too vague. The revert function specifically targets the candidate and running configurations, not a generic "device state" or "another configuration."

D. While dynamic update settings can be part of a configuration change, the revert operation is not limited to them; it affects the entire candidate configuration.

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1. Palo Alto Networks. (2020). Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide. PAN-OS 10.0. In Chapter 2, "Initial Configuration," the section "Configuration Management" states: "To discard any changes made to the candidate configuration, you can revert the candidate configuration to the current running configuration."

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide. Version 10.1. In the section "Device > Setup > Operations," the guide explains configuration management concepts. The revert action is described as discarding uncommitted changes, which exist in the candidate config, and reloading that candidate config from the active (running) config. The guide states, "To discard your changes, click Revert to undo all changes made since the last commit." This action reloads the candidate configuration from the running configuration.

A. Usernames: User-ID maps users to IP addresses for policy enforcement, but usernames themselves are not the direct matching criteria for a DAG's membership.

B. IP addresses: Manually adding IP addresses as members creates a static address group, which is fundamentally different from a dynamic one.

D. MAC addresses: MAC addresses are Layer 2 identifiers and are not used as a basis for populating Layer 3-based Dynamic Address Groups.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2: In the section "Objects > Address Groups > Create a Dynamic Address Group," the guide states, "To define the members of a dynamic address group, you use tags as the matching criteria. The firewall then dynamically includes the IP addresses of any objects that have been assigned a matching tag." (Reference: PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide 10.2, Chapter: Objects, Section: Address Groups)

2. Palo Alto Networks Technical Documentation: The document "Use Dynamic Address Groups in Policy" explicitly states, "To define the members of a dynamic address group, you use tags as the matching criteria." It further details how tags can be registered from various sources, including User-ID, which can tag an IP address based on the user logged in, but the DAG itself matches the tag, not the username directly. (Reference: Palo Alto Networks TechDocs, "Use Dynamic Address Groups in Policy")

3. Palo Alto Networks PCNSA Study Guide: The official PCNSA Study Guide, in the module covering policy objects, explains that Dynamic Address Groups are used to automatically update group membership. It specifies that this is achieved by "defining the group based on tags." (Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide, Module 4: Securing Traffic with Policies)

A. An application filter on the email subcategory would permit all applications classified as email, not just a specific, restricted set.

C. An application filter on the collaboration category is too broad; it would allow all collaboration applications, including non-email ones.

D. Application groups are composed of individual applications. It is not possible to add an entire category to an application group.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2020). Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide. Version for PAN-OS 10.0.

Page 101, "Application Groups": "An Application Group is a static group of specific applications that you can use in policies. For example, you can create an Application Group that contains all your organization’s sanctioned social networking applications." This directly supports the use of an Application Group for a static, specific list of applications.

Page 102, "Application Filters": "An Application Filter is a dynamic group of applications that is based on application attributes that you define: Category, Subcategory, Technology, Risk, and Characteristic." This clarifies why options A and C are incorrect for selecting specific applications.

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2.

Section: Objects > Application Groups: "Use application groups to group applications so that you can use them to create policies in a more scalable and manageable way. An application group is a static list of applications." This confirms that Application Groups are the correct tool for creating a static list of specific applications.

Section: Objects > Application Filters: "Application filters enable you to dynamically group applications based on their attributes... When you use an application filter in a policy rule, the firewall dynamically calculates the applications that match the filter." This explains the dynamic nature of filters, making them unsuitable for the static requirement in the question.

B: Manually adding every IP address from a range is impractical and defeats the purpose of using an EDL with address ranges.

C: The PAN-OS web interface does not provide a feature to expand an address range within the EDL viewer and select individual IPs for exclusion.

D: Regular expressions are used for URL-based EDLs, not for IP address-based EDLs. This method is technically incorrect for the specified list type.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 11.0 (Nova), "Objects > External Dynamic Lists > Create an Exception List for an External Dynamic List". This section states: "You can create an exception list... For example, if you have an external dynamic list of malicious IP addresses that you want to block, but the list includes the IP address of a trusted partner, you can add the partner’s IP address to the exception list." The procedure involves adding the specific IP to the "Exception List" tab.

2. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Objects > External Dynamic Lists". The documentation confirms the same procedure: "To create an exception, you manually add an entry to the list. The firewall then excludes that entry from the external dynamic list during policy enforcement." This directly supports adding the specific IP to the exception list.

A. The entry contains wildcards.

Wildcards are a valid format for certain EDL types, such as Domain lists (e.g., .example.com), and would not universally cause this issue.

D. The entry matches a list entry.

An entry matching a list item is the required condition for a valid exclusion; this would enable the 'OK' button, not disable it.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide Version 10.2. "Objects > External Dynamic Lists". In the description of the "Exception List" for an EDL, the guide specifies for the 'Exclude' list: "The entry must be an exact match to an entry in the external dynamic list." This directly implies that a non-matching entry (Option C) is an invalid configuration.

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide Version 11.0. "Objects > External Dynamic Lists". The principle of disallowing duplicate entries (Option B) is a standard data validation behavior within the PAN-OS web interface for managing list-based objects, including address groups, service groups, and EDL exception lists, to ensure configuration integrity. This behavior is consistent across object management sections.

A. Rules without App Controls: This feature, often labeled "No App Specified," specifically identifies rules that use port-based services instead of application-based (App-ID) controls.

B. New App Viewer: This feature is used to discover new applications that have been detected on an existing, broader rule, helping administrators create more granular, application-specific rules.

D. Unused Apps: This feature identifies specific applications that are allowed within a rule but have not been observed in the traffic matching that rule, which is different from the usage of the rule itself.

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1. Palo Alto Networks. (2021). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide Version 10.2.

Section: Policy > Policy Optimizer > Rule Usage

Content: "The Rule Usage tab provides visibility into the hit count and the last time a rule was hit... Use this information to identify and remove unused rules to reduce the attack surface." This directly describes the function and columns ("Hit Count", "Last Hit") shown in the image.

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2020). Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide, PAN-OS 10.0.

Module 5: Securing Traffic with Policies

Section: Identify Unused Rules and Applications

Content: "The Rule Usage view shows the hit count and the last time a rule was hit. You can use this information to identify and remove unused rules." This confirms that the view showing hit counts is the "Rule Usage" feature.

3. Palo Alto Networks TechDocs. (n.d.). Use Policy Optimizer to Identify Port-Based Rules.

URL: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/policy/use-policy-optimizer-to-identify-port-based-rules

Section: Policy Optimizer Concepts

Content: The documentation describes the different tabs and functions within Policy Optimizer, clearly distinguishing "Rule Usage" (tracking hit counts) from "No App Specified" (port-based rules) and "Unused Apps" (apps within a rule that are not seen).

A. Reset-client: This is a specific type of deny action that sends a TCP reset to the client; it is not the default silent drop action.

B. Reset-server: This action sends a TCP reset to the server. It is an active rejection, not the default behavior for the interzone-default rule.

D. Allow: This is the default action for the intrazone-default rule, which governs traffic within the same zone, not between different zones.

1. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide 10.2 (2022). Security Policy Rules. "The firewall provides two predefined security rules that are in effect by default... The interzone-default rule applies to traffic between zones and has a default action of deny." (Accessed under the section: Objects > Security Policy > Security Policy Rules).

2. Palo Alto Networks (2023). Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide. Module 4: Securing Traffic with Security Policies. The guide explicitly states: "The interzone-default rule denies all traffic between different zones unless an explicit Security policy rule allows it."

3. Palo Alto Networks (2021). EDU-210 Palo Alto Networks Firewall 10.1 Essentials: Configuration and Management, Student Guide. Module 4: Security Policy. "The interzone-default rule is the last rule in the rulebase. It has an action of Deny and applies to traffic between any zones."

A. Post-NAT address: The Security policy lookup is performed on the original packet's IP addresses, not the addresses as they exist after NAT has been applied.

C. Pre-NAT zone: While the source zone is a pre-NAT zone, the destination zone is post-NAT. The question asks for two criteria, and the combination of pre-NAT address and post-NAT zone best describes the specific logic when NAT is involved.

1. Palo Alto Networks, "PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2"

Section: Packet Flow Sequence in PAN-OS > Session Setup

Content: The guide details the slow-path packet flow. It explicitly states that the Security policy lookup (step 9 in the flow) uses the original (pre-NAT) source and destination IP addresses. It also clarifies that the destination zone is determined during the forwarding lookup (step 5), which identifies the egress interface for the packet, making it the post-NAT zone. This confirms that policies are written with pre-NAT addresses and a post-NAT destination zone.

2. Palo Alto Networks, "Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide"

Section: Module 5: NAT

Content: The official study guide states: "When configuring a security policy for traffic that will be processed by a NAT policy, remember that the security policy will enforce on the original (pre-NAT) IP addresses but on the post-NAT zones." This statement directly supports selecting "Pre-NAT address" and "Post-NAT zone" as the correct answers.

A. Biometric scanning results from iOS devices: This data is used for local device authentication and is not an information source that the Palo Alto Networks firewall can ingest for user tagging.

E. DNS Security service: While the DNS Security service is a valid source of information, its findings are delivered as a firewall log. Therefore, this option is a specific example already covered by the broader and more fundamental category of "Firewall logs" (Option B).

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Dynamic User Groups": In the section on User-ID, the guide states, "The source for the tags can be: Firewall logs that are forwarded to a syslog server or Panorama... The User-ID XML API. You can use the API to dynamically register and unregister tags for a user from an external device, such as a ClearPass server or a custom script." This directly supports that Firewall Logs (B) and the API (used by custom scripts (C) and SIEMs (D)) are the primary sources.

2. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Configure Log Forwarding": This section details how to create profiles that take action based on logs. It explicitly mentions the ability to "tag the user who initiated the session and add the user to a dynamic user group," confirming firewall logs as a source.

3. Palo Alto Networks, "User-ID API Reference": The API documentation provides the specific XML and REST API calls for registering and unregistering IP-to-tag and user-to-tag mappings. This is the mechanism used by external sources like SIEMs (D) and custom scripts (C) to populate DUGs.

A. Unlimited: This is incorrect. PAN-OS enforces a specific upper limit for concurrent administrative sessions for security and system stability.

B. 2: This is incorrect. While '2' is a valid number within the configurable range (1-10), it is not the maximum possible value.

D. 1: This is incorrect. This is the minimum configurable value, which would prevent any concurrent sessions, not the maximum.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 11.0. "Device > Setup > Management". In the Management Interface Settings table, the entry for "Max Concurrent Logins per Administrator" states, "Enter the maximum number of concurrent sessions allowed for each administrator (range is 1-10; default is 10)."

2. Palo Alto Networks. (2022). PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2. "Reference: Web Interface and CLI". Section: "Device > Setup > Management". The description for "Max Concurrent Logins per Administrator" specifies the range as 1 to 10.

B. URL Filtering controls web categories, not the per-file-type actions inside a File Blocking profile.

D. Predefined profiles cannot be edited directly; they must be cloned first.

1. Palo Alto Networks, PAN-OS 10.2 Administrator’s Guide, “Set Up a File-Blocking Profile,” Steps 2-3 (clone required) and Step 5 (action = Continue).

2. Palo Alto Networks, TechDocs “File Blocking Profiles – Best Practices,” paragraph “Use ‘continue’ for business-critical file types,” <https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com>.

3. Palo Alto Networks PCNSA Study Guide (Official), Module “Security Profiles—File Blocking,” p. 122-123 (cloning default profiles; Continue action behaviour).

A. Network > Tags: The Network tab is designated for configuring network-specific elements like interfaces, zones, virtual routers, and VLANs, not for managing logical objects like tags.

B. Monitor > Tags: The Monitor tab is used for viewing logs, reports, and operational status. It is a read-only section for analysis and does not contain configuration objects.

D. Policies > Tags: The Policies tab is where tags are applied to security, NAT, or other policy rules. However, the tags themselves are defined and managed centrally under the Objects tab.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2: In the section on "Objects," the guide details the various components that can be configured. It explicitly states the navigation path for managing tags: "To create and manage tags, select Objects > Tags." (Reference: PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2, "Objects > Tags", Page 389).

2. Palo Alto Networks PCNSA Study Guide: The official study guide outlines the core components of the PAN-OS. In the chapter covering firewall objects, it describes tags as a type of object used for organization and policy creation. The guide directs the user to the Objects > Tags menu to manage them. (Reference: Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) Study Guide, "Chapter 4: Securing Traffic with Policies," section on "Policy Objects").

3. Palo Alto Networks EDU-210 Courseware: The "Firewall 10.1 Essentials: Configuration and Management (EDU-210)" course, which is the foundation for the PCNSA certification, covers object management. In the module "Managing Firewall Objects," the student guide demonstrates that tags are created and managed via the Objects > Tags pane in the web interface. (Reference: Firewall 10.1 Essentials: Configuration and Management (EDU-210) Student Guide, "Module 4: Managing Firewall Objects").

B. Antivirus: This profile is incorrect because it focuses on detecting and blocking malware transmitted within files (e.g., via HTTP, SMTP, SMB), not on analyzing DNS queries.

C. Vulnerability Protection: This profile is incorrect as it is designed to detect and prevent attempts to exploit system and software vulnerabilities, rather than inspecting DNS traffic for malicious domains.

D. URL Filtering: This profile is incorrect because its primary function is to control access to websites based on their category. While related to domains, it does not contain the settings for DNS Signatures.

1. Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide 10.2: In the section "Configure DNS Security," the guide explicitly states, "To use DNS Security, you must purchase and install a DNS Security subscription license. You then configure DNS Security as part of an Anti-Spyware profile and attach the profile to a Security policy rule." The configuration steps that follow direct the user to navigate to Objects > Security Profiles > Anti-Spyware and then select the DNS Signatures tab. (Reference: Chapter "DNS Security", Section "Configure DNS Security").

2. Palo Alto Networks PCNSA Study Guide: The guide details the functions of different Security profiles. In the chapter covering Security Profiles, it explains that the Anti-Spyware profile is used to protect against malware that communicates using command-and-control (C2) channels, which often includes DNS-based threats. It clarifies that DNS Security is an extension of this capability. (Reference: PCNSA Study Guide, Module 6: "Securing Traffic with Security Profiles").

3. Palo Alto Networks Live Community, "Getting Started: DNS Security": This official resource outlines the deployment steps, stating, "DNS Security is configured within an Anti-Spyware profile. Create a new Anti-Spyware profile or use an existing one." (Reference: Document ID: 1973, Section: "Configuration").

B. Vulnerability protection: This profile prevents the exploitation of software vulnerabilities in network traffic. It is a preventative measure against infection, not a tool for identifying an already compromised host.

C. URL filtering: This profile controls access to websites based on their category. While it can block access to known malicious URLs, its primary function is not to detect C2 traffic from infected hosts.

D. Antivirus: This profile scans files for malware as they traverse the firewall to prevent the initial infection. It does not identify a host that is already infected and communicating with a C2 server.

1. Palo Alto Networks. (2023). PCNSA Study Guide. Version 11.0. "Threat Prevention" section, "Anti-Spyware" subsection. The guide states, "Anti-spyware security profiles block spyware on compromised hosts from trying to contact external command-and-control (C2) servers."

2. Palo Alto Networks TechDocs. (2024). "Anti-Spyware Profiles". PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide. Retrieved from docs.paloaltonetworks.com. The document specifies, "The best-practice Anti-Spyware profile detects command-and-control (C2) traffic initiated by malware on a compromised host and blocks it."

3. Palo Alto Networks TechDocs. (2024). "Security Profiles". PAN-OS® Administrator's Guide. Retrieved from docs.paloaltonetworks.com. This section contrasts the profiles, clarifying that Antivirus stops malware delivery, Vulnerability Protection stops exploits, and Anti-Spyware detects and stops C2 traffic from compromised systems.