PCNSE Exam Dumps - Palo Alto Networks Certified Security Engineer (PCNSE) PAN-OS 11.0

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClRdCAK

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/url-filtering/configure-url-filtering

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/url-filtering/allow-password-access-to-certain-sites#id7e63ce07-8b30-4506-a1e3-5800303954e8

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-1/pan-os-web-interface-help/network/network-network-profiles/network-network-profiles-monitor.html

The best decryption best practice that the administrator should consider is A: Consider the local, legal, and regulatory implications and how they affect which traffic can be decrypted. This is because decryption involves intercepting and inspecting encrypted traffic, which may raise privacy and compliance issues depending on the jurisdiction and the type of traffic1. Therefore, the administrator should be aware of the local, legal, and regulatory implications and how they affect which traffic can be decrypted, and follow the appropriate guidelines and policies to ensure that decryption is done in a lawful and ethical manner1.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-1/pan-os-networking-admin/nat/nat-configuration-examples/destination-nat-exampleone-to-one-mapping

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/11-0/pan-os-admin/virtual-systems/customize-service-routes-for-a-virtual-system/customize-service-routes-to-services-for-virtual-systems

When the peer device will act as the initiator and none of the peer addresses are known, the administrator can enable Passive Mode to establish the VPN connection. Passive Mode tells the firewall to wait for the peer device to initiate the VPN connection. The other options are incorrect. Option A, setting up certificate authentication, would require the administrator to know the peer device's certificate. Option C, using the Dynamic IP address type, would require the administrator to know the peer device's dynamic IP address. Option D, configuring the peer address as an FQDN, would require the administrator to know the peer device's fully qualified domain name.

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClIGCA0

When using the log forwarding built-in action with tagging in Palo Alto Networks firewalls, the primary purpose is to dynamically respond to threats or unwanted traffic identified by the firewall's threat detection mechanisms. The action involves tagging the IP address associated with the unwanted traffic and then using that tag in dynamic security policies to block or manage the traffic.

A. Destination IP addresses of selected unwanted traffic are blocked:

• When the tagging action is used, the firewall tags the IP addresses involved in the unwanted traffic (which could be the source or destination IP addresses, but in many configurations, the focus is on the source of the attack). These tags can then be referenced in Dynamic Address Groups (DAGs) within security policies. Consequently, any traffic coming from or going to these tagged IP addresses can be blocked or subjected to specific security rules, effectively mitigating the threat or unwanted behavior.

This approach allows for automated, real-time responses to identified threats, enhancing the security posture by quickly adapting to emerging threats without manual intervention.

Palo Alto Networks recommends following a specific upgrade path when upgrading PAN-OS to ensure compatibility and minimize the risk of issues. The recommended path involves sequential upgrades through major releases.

B. The detailed upgrade path from PAN-OS 10.1 to 11.0.x involves:

• First, upgrading to the latest preferred maintenance release of the current PAN-OS version (10.1) to ensure that all the latest fixes and improvements are applied.
• Next, upgrading to the base version of the next major release (PAN-OS 10.2.0), followed by upgrading to the latest preferred maintenance release of PAN-OS 10.2. This step ensures that the firewall is on a stable and supported version before proceeding to the next major release.
• Finally, upgrading to the base version of PAN-OS 11.0 (11.0.0), followed by the desired PAN-OS 11.0.x version. This step completes the upgrade to the new major version, providing access to new features and improvements, such as TLSv1.3 support for management access.

This sequential upgrade path is designed to ensure a smooth transition between major versions, maintaining system stability and security.

A: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-1/pan-os-web-interface-help/network/network-virtual-routers/more-runtime-stats-for-a-logical-router#id5628a5e4-e908-457e-a2fd-270a476ab752

D: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-cli-quick-start/cli-cheat-sheets/cli-cheat-sheet-networking

For HIP match logs to be visible on the data center firewall, the following conditions must be met:

• HIP profiles added to security rules: HIP profiles must be applied to security rules on the data center firewall to enforce access restrictions based on the received HIP reports. If the HIP profiles are not associated with the security rules, the firewall will not evaluate traffic against these profiles, and consequently, no HIP match logs will be generated.
• User-ID enabled on the incoming zone: User-ID must be enabled on the zone where the users are located in the data center firewall. The User-ID feature is responsible for mapping IP addresses to user names, which is critical for applying policies based on user identity and, by extension, for HIP-based policy enforcement.

The other options (A and D) are related to logging and log forwarding but would not directly impact the generation or visibility of HIP match logs on the data center firewall itself.

https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/t5/general-topics/wildfire-submission-entries-with-severity-high-showing-action/td-p/143516

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/9-1/pan-os-admin/quality-of-service/qos-concepts/qos-classes

In an active/active high availability (HA) firewall pair, the firewall that is currently processing traffic is in the “Active” state. This state indicates that the firewall is fully functional and can own sessions and set up sessions. An active firewall can be either active-primary or active-secondary, depending on the Device ID and the HA configuration. An active-primary firewall connects to User-ID agents, runs DHCP server and DHCP relay, and matches NAT and PBF rules with the Device ID of the active-primary firewall. An active-secondary firewall connects to User-ID agents, runs DHCP server, and matches NAT and PBF rules with the Device ID of the active-secondary firewall. An active-secondary firewall does not support DHCP relay1. References: HA Firewall States, PCNSE Study Guide (page 53)

PAN-OS can decrypt and inspect SSL inbound and outbound connections going through the firewall. SSL decryption can occur on interfaces in virtual wire, Layer 2 or Layer 3 mode https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClmyCAC

When facing high packet buffer utilization due to flood attacks, enabling packet buffer protection is a strategic step. However, simply enabling it globally might not be sufficient. The additional step needed is:

D. Add a Zone Protection profile to the affected zones:Zone Protection profiles provide a set of protections against various flood types, reconnaissance attempts, packet-based attacks, and protocol anomalies. By adding a Zone Protection profile to the zones that are experiencing high packet buffer utilization, the firewall can apply specific thresholds and actions to mitigate flood attacks, thus preventing the packet buffers from being overwhelmed.

It's important to configure the Zone Protection profile with appropriate thresholds and actions for flood protection, taking into consideration the normal traffic patterns and the capacity of the network and firewall. This proactive approach ensures that legitimate traffic is allowed while mitigating potential attacks that could consume excessive resources.

For comprehensive instructions on setting up Zone Protection profiles and configuring them for optimal protection against flood and other types of attacks, refer to the Palo Alto Networks knowledge base and official documentation. These resources provide valuable insights into best practices and recommendations for securing your network infrastructure.

In order to see what is in a template, the device-group needs the template referenced. Even if you add the firewall to both the template and device-group, the device-group will not see what is in the template. The following link has a video that demonstrates that B is the correct answer. https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000PNfeCAG

To determine the egress interface a Palo Alto Networks firewall will use to route a specific IP address, the appropriate command is test routing fib-lookup ip 10.2.5.3 virtual-router default. This command performs a Forwarding Information Base (FIB) lookup for the specified IP address within the context of the specified virtual router, which in this case is the default virtual router. The FIB lookup process checks the routing table and the associated forwarding information to determine the next-hop and the egress interface for the given IP address. This command is instrumental for troubleshooting and verifying routing decisions made by the firewall to ensure that traffic is routed as expected through the network infrastructure.

Decryption Mirror is a feature that allows a Palo Alto Networks firewall to send a copy of decrypted traffic to an external security device or tool for further analysis. The potential risk associated with Decryption Mirror is that if the firewall administrator's credentials are compromised, a malicious user could potentially access sensitive decrypted information. Hence, it's advised to be cautious and ensure proper handling of this feature.

Additionally, laws and regulations regarding the decryption, storage, inspection, and use of SSL/TLS encrypted traffic vary by country and industry. It is crucial to ensure compliance with relevant laws and best practices when using Decryption Mirror. This often requires consultation with corporate legal counsel to understand the implications and ensure that the use of such features does not violate privacy laws or regulatory requirements.

The need for administrative consent and the legal implications of using Decryption Mirror features are outlined in Palo Alto Networks' "PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide" and best practice documentation. It is not specifically required to have a tap interface to use Decryption Mirror, which eliminates option A. Option C is incorrect because it is not just management consent but legal compliance that needs to be considered.

The firewalls exchange hello messages and heartbeats at configurable intervals to verify that the peer firewall is responsive and operational. Hello messages are sent from one peer to the other to verify the state of the firewall. The heartbeat is an ICMP ping to the HA peer. A response from the peer indicates that the firewalls are connected and responsive.

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"A "heartbeat-interval" CLI command was added to the election settings for HA, this interval has a 1000ms minimum for all Palo Alto Networks platforms and is an ICMP ping to the other device through the HA control link." https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClMaCAK

To apply tags automatically based on User-ID logs, the engineer must configure a Log Forwarding profile that specifies the criteria for matching the logs and the tags to apply. The Log Forwarding profile can be attached to a security policy rule or a decryption policy rule to enable auto-tagging for the traffic that matches the rule. The tags can then be used for dynamic address groups, policy enforcement, or reporting1. References: Use Auto-Tagging to Automate Security Actions, PCNSE Study Guide (page 49)

A template is a set of configuration options that can be applied to one or more firewalls or virtual systems managed by Panorama. A template can include settings from the Device and Network tabs on the firewall web interface, such as login banner, SSL decryption exclusion, and dynamic updates4. These settings can be configured in a template named “Global” and included in all template stacks. A template stack is a group of templates that Panorama pushes to managed firewalls in an ordered hierarchy4. References: Manage Templates and Template Stacks, PCNSE Study Guide (page 50)

Palo Alto Networks Device Telemetry data, collected from firewalls with a device certificate installed, is stored on Palo Alto Networks Update Servers. This telemetry data includes information about threats, device health, and other operational metrics that are crucial for the continuous improvement of security services and threat intelligence. The collected data is anonymized and securely transmitted to Palo Alto Networks, where it is used to enhance the overall effectiveness of threat identification and prevention capabilities across all deployed devices. This collaborative approach helps in keeping the security ecosystem updated and resilient against emerging threats.

The two key exchange algorithms that consume the most resources when decrypting SSL traffic are ECDHE and DHE. These are both Diffie-Hellman based algorithms that enable perfect forward secrecy (PFS), which means that they generate a new and unique session key for each SSL/TLS session, and do not reuse any previous keys. This enhances the security of the encrypted communication, but also increases the computational cost and complexity of the key exchange process. ECDHE stands for Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral, which uses elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) to generate the session key. DHE stands for Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral, which uses modular arithmetic to generate the session key. Both ECDHE and DHE require more CPU and memory resources than RSA, which is a non-PFS algorithm that uses public and private keys to encrypt and decrypt the session key123. References: Key Exchange Algorithms, Best Practices for Enabling SSL Decryption, PCNSE Study Guide (page 60)

>Threat logs, create a log forwarding profile to define how you want the firewall or Panorama to handle logs. >Configure an HTTP server profile to forward logs to a remote User-ID agent. > Select the log forwarding profile you created then select this server profile as the HTTP server profile https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/11-0/pan-os-admin/policy/use-auto-tagging-to-automate-security-actions

In an active/active high availability (HA) firewall pair, when a firewall experiences a failure of a monitored path, it enters the “Tentative” state1. This state indicates that the firewall is synchronizing sessions and configurations from its peer due to a failure or a change in monitored objects such as a link or path. The firewall in this state is not fully functional but is working towards resuming normal operations by syncing with its peer. Therefore, the correct answer is B. Tentative.

Firewall Stuck in Initial (Leaving Suspended State) - Palo Alto Networks

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/panorama/11-0/panorama-admin/manage-firewalls/transition-a-firewall-to-panorama-management/migrate-a-firewall-to-panorama-management Push the configuration bundle from Panorama to the newly added firewall to remove all policy rules and objects from its local configuration. This step is necessary to prevent duplicate rule or object names, which would cause commit errors when you push the device group configuration from Panorama to the firewall in the next step.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/11-0/pan-os-networking-admin/bfd/bfd-overview/bfd-for-dynamic-routing-protocols

In Palo Alto Networks firewalls, the order of rule evaluation is critical for traffic enforcement. To ensure high priority evaluation, rules should be configured at the top of the rulebase so they are matched before others. The Security Pre-Rules are designed for shared policies across multiple device groups in Panorama, and by placing the block action rules at the top of the Pre-Rules, it guarantees that these rules are evaluated first, before any device-specific or post-rules.For verification, please refer to the Palo Alto Networks "PAN-OS® Administrator’s Guide" or the official configuration documentation for Panorama and device group rules.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/high-availability/ha-concepts/ha-timers

To configure SSL Forward Proxy decryption on a Palo Alto Networks firewall, certain key components must be set up to ensure secure and effective decryption and inspection of SSL/TLS encrypted traffic:

B. Define a Forward Trust Certificate:

• A Forward Trust Certificate is essential for SSL Forward Proxy decryption. This certificate is used by the firewall to dynamically generate certificates for SSL sites that are trusted. When the firewall decrypts and inspects the traffic and then re-encrypts it, the new certificate presented to the client comes from the Forward Trust Certificate authority. This certificate must be trusted by client devices, often requiring the Forward Trust CA certificate to be distributed and installed on client devices.

C. Configure SSL decryption rules:

• SSL decryption rules are the policies that determine which traffic is to be decrypted. These rules specify the source, destination, service, and URL category, among other criteria. The rules define what traffic the SSL Forward Proxy will apply to, enabling selective decryption based on security and privacy requirements.

Together, these components form the basis of the SSL Forward Proxy decryption setup, allowing for the decryption, inspection, and re-encryption of SSL/TLS encrypted traffic to identify and prevent threats hidden within encrypted sessions.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-cli-quick-start/use-the-cli/use-secure-copy-to-import-and-export-files/export-and-import-a-complete-log-database-logdb

TIPS & TRICKS: REDUCING MANAGEMENT PLANE LOAD:

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClSvCAK

TIPS & TRICKS: REDUCING MANAGEMENT PLANE LOAD—PART 2:

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClU4CAK

In Palo Alto Networks firewalls, the order of evaluation for blocking access to specific URLs involves several components, including URL Filtering profiles and Security policy rules. Among the options listed, the Custom URL category in a Security policy rule is evaluated last in the processing order. This is because the firewall processes Security policy rules after URL Filtering profiles. If a URL matches a Custom URL category in a Security policy rule, this rule will override any allow actions in URL Filtering profiles due to the hierarchical nature of policy evaluation. Security policies provide the final verdict on whether traffic is allowed or denied, making them the last line of evaluation for access control, including URL blocking.

ttps://www.kareemccie.com/2021/05/palo-alto-firewall-packet-flow.html

https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClGJCA0

traffic log would list an application as “not-applicable” if the firewall denied the traffic before the application match could be performed. This can happen if the traffic matches a security rule that is set to deny based on any parameter other than the application, such as source, destination, port, service, etc1. In this case, the firewall does not inspect the application data and discards the traffic, resulting in a “not-applicable” entry in the application field of the traffic log1.

When planning an upgrade in an environment that includes Panorama, firewalls, and log collectors, it's crucial to follow the recommended sequence to ensure compatibility and minimize disruptions. Palo Alto Networks recommends the following order:

• Upgrade Panorama: Start with Panorama because it's the central management platform. Upgrading Panorama first ensures that it's compatible with the new PAN-OS versions that the managed devices (firewalls and log collectors) will be upgraded to. Panorama must be able to support the new versions for it to manage and monitor the devices effectively.
• Upgrade the log collectors: Next, upgrade the log collectors. Since log collectors work closely with Panorama to aggregate and store logs from the firewalls, they should be upgraded after Panorama to ensure compatibility. Upgrading the log collectors ensures they can handle the log formats and features introduced in the new PAN-OS version.
• Upgrade the firewalls: Finally, upgrade the firewalls. The firewalls are the last components to be upgraded to ensure that they remain compatible with the management and log collection infrastructure. Upgrading the firewalls last minimizes the risk of compatibility issues with Panorama and log collectors.

This sequence ensures that all components are compatible and that the management and logging infrastructure can fully support the firewalls running the latest PAN-OS version.

Traffic didnt match any other policies and so landed at the implicit "deny all" policy. If it's deny all, the traffic was dropped before the application could be determined. https://knowledgebase.paloaltonetworks.com/KCSArticleDetail?id=kA10g000000ClibCAC

The compare option for a specific rule in the New App Viewer under Policy Optimizer allows an administrator to compare the applications configured in the rule with the applications seen from traffic matching the same rule. This helps the administrator to identify any new applications that are not explicitly defined in the rule, but are implicitly allowed by the firewall based on the dependencies of the configured applications. The compare option also shows the usage statistics and risk levels of the applications, and provides suggestions for optimizing the rule by adding, removing, or replacing applications12. References: New App Viewer (Policy Optimizer), PCNSE Study Guide (page 47)

Why use Security Policy Optimizer and what are the benefits?

Hover over an attribute in the table below the chart and click the arrow icon to the right of the attribute. https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/9-1/pan-os-admin/monitoring/use-the-application-command-center/interact-with-the-acc#id5cc39dae-04cf-4936-9916-1a4b0f3179b9

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/prisma-access/prisma-access-cloud-managed-admin/secure-mobile-users-with-prisma-access/explicit-proxy/explicit-proxy-how-it-works

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/11-0/pan-os-new-features/networking-features/web-proxy

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/high-availability/set-up-activeactive-ha/prerequisites-for-activeactive-ha

These are the two links that can be used to configure an active/active high availability pair. An active/active high availability pair consists of two firewalls that are both active and share the traffic load between them1. To configure an active/active high availability pair, the following links are required2:

• HA1: This is the control link that is used for exchanging heartbeat messages and configuration synchronization between the firewalls. It can be a dedicated interface or a subinterface. It can also have a backup link for redundancy.
• HA2: This is the data link that is used for forwarding sessions from one firewall to another in case of failover or load balancing. It can be a dedicated interface or a subinterface. It can also have a backup link for redundancy.
• HA3: This is the session owner synchronization link that is used for synchronizing session information between the firewalls in different virtual systems. It can be a dedicated interface or a subinterface. It is only required for active/active high availability pairs, not for active/passive pairs.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/zone-protection-and-dos-protection/zone-defense/packet-buffer-protection

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/certificate-management/configure-an-ssltls-service-profile

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/decryption/configure-ssl-forward-proxy

Recommended: Use for typical failover timer settings. Unless you’re sure that you need different settings, the best practice is to use the Recommended settings.

Aggressive: Use for faster failover timer settings.

Advanced: Allows you to customize the values to suit your network requirement for each of the following timers:

Cisco TrustSec technology uses Security Group Tags (SGTs) to enforce access controls on Layer 2 traffic. When implementing Zone Protection on a Palo Alto Networks firewall in an environment with Cisco TrustSec, you should configure Ethernet SGT Protection. This setting ensures that the firewall can recognize SGTs in Ethernet frames and apply the appropriate actions based on the configured policies.The use of Ethernet SGT Protection in conjunction with TrustSec is covered in advanced firewall configuration documentation and in interoperability guides between Palo Alto Networks and Cisco systems.

The engineer should review the legal compliance regulations and acceptable usage policies with their leadership before implementing SSL Forward Proxy decryption for their organization. SSL Forward Proxy decryption allows the firewall to decrypt and inspect the traffic from internal users to external servers. This can raise privacy and legal concerns for the users and the organization. Therefore, the engineer should ensure that the leadership is aware of the implications and benefits of SSL Forward Proxy decryption and that they have a clear policy for informing and obtaining consent from the users. Option A is incorrect because browser-supported cipher documentation is not relevant for SSL Forward Proxy decryption. The firewall uses its own cipher suite to negotiate encryption with the external server, regardless of the browser settings. Option B is incorrect because cipher documentation supported by the endpoint operating system is not relevant for SSL Forward Proxy decryption. The firewall uses its own cipher suite to negotiate encryption with the external server, regardless of the endpoint operating system. Option C is incorrect because URL risk-based category distinctions are not relevant for SSL Forward Proxy decryption. The firewall can decrypt and inspect traffic based on any URL category, not just risk-based ones.

https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/10-2/pan-os-admin/decryption/decryption-concepts "Understand local laws and regulations about the traffic you can legally decrypt and user notification requirements."

In a situation where Panorama and its managed firewalls lack internet access, updating PAN-OS requires a manual upload of the downloaded PAN-OS images. The process involves:

D. Upload the image to Panorama > Device Deployment > Software menu, and deploy it to the firewalls:

• The engineer first uploads the downloaded PAN-OS images to Panorama. This is done through the "Device Deployment" section, specifically under the "Software" menu. This area of Panorama's interface is designed for managing PAN-OS versions and software updates for the managed devices.
• Once the PAN-OS images are uploaded to Panorama, the engineer can then deploy these images to the firewalls directly from Panorama. This process allows for centralized management of software updates, ensuring that all firewalls can be updated to the latest PAN-OS version in a consistent and controlled manner, even without direct internet access.

This method streamlines the update process for environments with strict security requirements, allowing for the efficient deployment of necessary PAN-OS updates to maintain security and functionality.