NSE7_SSE_AD-25 Fortinet NSE 7 - FortiSASE 25 Enterprise Administrator Free Practice Exam Questions (2026 Updated)

In a standard FortiSASE agent-based deployment, the FortiSASE Endpoint Management Service (EMS) acts as the central control plane for all managed FortiClient instances. When an endpoint is onboarded, the system is designed to provide "zero-touch" configuration for the core connectivity and security components.

CA Certificate (A): For SSL deep inspection to function without triggering browser certificate warnings, the endpoint must trust the FortiSASE CA. FortiSASE supports automatically installing the FortiSASE CA certificate for managed agent-based users. Once the endpoint connects to the FortiSASE EMS, the service automatically deploys the CA certificate to the trusted certificate store of the client machine.

Tunnel Profile (B): To enable Secure Internet Access (SIA), FortiClient requires a pre-configured VPN or tunnel profile that points to the FortiSASE cloud infrastructure. In a new deployment with default settings, FortiSASE automatically pushes the tunnel profile (including gateway information and auto-connect settings) to the FortiClient endpoint. This allows the user to establish a full-tunnel connection to the nearest Security PoP immediately after onboarding.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

Real-time protection (C): While FortiSASE can manage Malware Protection and Sandbox settings, specific "Real-time protection" features often require manual activation or specific configuration within the Malware Protection profile before being pushed; they are not necessarily "automatically" active in the absolute default state without a profile assignment.

ZTNA tags (D): ZTNA tags are dynamic security posture attributes. While FortiSASE evaluates the endpoint to determine which tags apply, the tags themselves are not "pushed" to the client as a setting; rather, the ZTNA connection rules are pushed, and the tags are synchronized back to the security fabric for posture enforcement.

Integrating FortiManager with FortiSASE allows for central management of configuration objects like addresses and5 security 6profiles. For this integration to function correctly, the following key prerequisites must be met:

Same FortiCloud Account: A fundamental requirement for the integration is that both 10the FortiSASE instance and the FortiManager (whether physical, VM, or Cloud) must be registered under the same FortiCloud (FortiCare) account. This common identity allows the platforms to securely discover and authorize each other for synchronization.

Supported Firmware Version: The FortiManager must run a firmware version that is compatible with the FortiSASE release. According to the FortiSASE 25 Enterprise Administrator Study Guide, FortiManager version 7.4.4 or later is generally required to support the specific API connectors and object synchronization logic used by current FortiSASE environments. Using an unsupported version may result in synchronization failures or missing configuration features.

Management Logic: Once these prerequisites are met, the administrator can enable "Central Management" in the FortiSASE portal. This creates a one-way synchronization where FortiManager acts as the source of truth for objects like Security Profile Groups, ensuring consistent security posture across both the SASE cloud and on-premises FortiGates.

The Network Lockdown feature in FortiSASE is a specialized security control designed to ensure that managed endpoints remain protected by the SASE security stack at all times.

Mechanism of Action: Network lockdown relies specifically on the connection status of the tunnel to FortiSASE. When this feature is enabled in the Endpoint Profile, the FortiClient agent monitors whether the secure VPN tunnel (SSL or IPsec) to a FortiSASE Point of Presence (PoP) is active.

Enforcement Logic: If the agent detects that the tunnel is disconnected, it immediately places the endpoint's network interface into a "locked" state. In this state, all inbound and outbound network traffic is blocked, with the exception of traffic required to re-establish the connection to the FortiSASE infrastructure.

Purpose: This prevents "leakage" where an endpoint might communicate directly with the internet without inspection if the VPN tunnel drops or is manually disabled by the user. It essentially mandates that the device is either connected to FortiSASE or has no network access at all.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

Option A and B: While malware and vulnerabilities affect the security posture, they trigger different remediation actions (like quarantine or patching) rather than the "Network Lockdown" tunnel-state feature.

Option D: ZTNA tags identify the security posture to allow or deny access to specific applications, whereas Network Lockdown is a binary state (On/Off) affecting all network traffic based purely on tunnel connectivity.

In the context of Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), security posture tagging is the fundamental mechanism used to enforce compliance and security standards before granting access to protected resources.

Granular Access Control: The primary purpose of tagging is to provide granular access control.3 Instead of relying solely on static credentials, ZTNA uses these dynamic tags to determine if a device or user meets specific security requirements at the moment of the connection request.

Compliance-Based Enforcement: Tags are assigned based on the compliance status of the endpoint. For example, the FortiSASE Endpoint Management Service (EMS) can verify if a device has an active antivirus, is running a specific OS version, or is joined to the corporate domain.5 If the device fails any of these checks, the "Compliant" tag is removed, and access is automatically revoked.

Dynamic and Continuous Assessment: Unlike traditional VPNs that check posture only at login, ZTNA posture tagging allows for continuous assessment. If a device's security posture changes—for instance, if the user disables their firewall—the tag is updated in real-time across the Security Fabric, and the ZTNA policy will immediately deny further access.8

Integration with Policies: On the FortiGate (acting as a ZTNA proxy) or within FortiSASE, these tags are used as source criteria in ZTNA policies.9 Only traffic originating from endpoints with the required tags (e.g., "EMS-Tag: Corporate-Managed") is permitted to reach the protected application.

If the daily summary report generated by FortiSASE contains very little data, one possible explanation is that the "Log allowed traffic" setting is configured to log only "Security Events" for all policies. This configuration limits the amount of data logged, as it only includes security events and excludes normal allowed traffic.

Log Allowed Traffic Setting:

The "Log allowed traffic" setting determines which types of traffic are logged.

When set to "Security Events," only traffic that triggers a security event (such as a threat detection or policy violation) is logged.

Impact on Report Data:

If the log setting excludes regular allowed traffic, the amount of data captured and reported is significantly reduced.

This results in reports with minimal data, as only security-related events are included.

According to the NSE7 SASE Enterprise Guide (Pages 46 & 61), deploying Secure Private Access (SPA) with SD-WAN provides advanced security and networking capabilities by routing traffic through global Points of Presence (PoPs).

Inline Security Inspection (D): A major advantage of this approach is that traffic is routed through FortiSASE PoPs before it reaches private applications. This enables inline security inspection, providing robust protection against threats by applying the full SASE security stack—including antivirus, intrusion prevention, and deep packet inspection—to private access traffic.

Support for TCP and UDP (B): Organizations with existing FortiGate SD-WAN deployments benefit from broader and seamless access to privately hosted applications. The SD-WAN SPA use case explicitly supports both TCP- and UDP-based applications, ensuring that legacy or specialized services that rely on UDP function correctly over the secure tunnel.

SD-WAN Optimization: This method leverages the benefits of SD-WAN to optimize traffic flow between the SASE PoP and the corporate SD-WAN hub or data center FortiGate. It is particularly useful for mission-critical applications that require an extra layer of security combined with path optimization.

Architecture: In this configuration, the FortiSASE Security PoPs act as spokes in the organization’s SD-WAN network, relying on IPsec VPN overlays and BGP for secure dynamic routing.

While ZTNA posture checks are a feature of the broader ecosystem, the NSE7 Guide specifically highlights inline inspection and application support (TCP/UDP) as primary advantages of the SD-WAN integrated SPA approach.

FortiSASE hides user information when viewing and analyzing logs by hashing data using salt. This approach ensures that sensitive user information is obfuscated, enhancing privacy and security.

Hashing Data with Salt:

Hashing data involves converting it into a fixed-size string of characters, which is typically a hash value.

Salting adds random data to the input of the hash function, ensuring that even identical inputs produce different hash values.

This method provides enhanced security by making it more difficult to reverse-engineer the original data from the hash value.

Security and Privacy:

Using salted hashes ensures that user information remains secure and private when stored or analyzed in logs.

This technique is widely used in security systems to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.

During FortiSASE provisioning, the FortiSASE administrator needs to configure at least one security point of presence (PoP). A single PoP is sufficient to get started with FortiSASE, providing the necessary security services and connectivity for users.

Security Point of Presence (PoP):

A PoP is a strategically located data center that provides security services such as secure web gateway, firewall, and VPN termination.

Configuring at least one PoP ensures that users can connect to FortiSASE and benefit from its security features.

Scalability:

While only one PoP is required to start, additional PoPs can be added as needed to enhance redundancy, load balancing, and performance.

In a default FortiSASE deployment, endpoints are typically onboarded using a shared invitation code sent via email. While this code simplifies deployment, it can represent a security risk if the code is leaked or intercepted, as any device with the code could potentially register with the SASE management service.

User Verification (SAML SSO): To mitigate this risk, administrators can enable user verification as an additional layer of security.3 When this feature is enforced, entering the invitation code is no longer sufficient to complete registration.

Authentication Workflow: After the end user enters the invitation code in FortiClient, they are prompted to provide their corporate credentials via a SAML SSO login.5 FortiSASE acts as the Service Provider (SP), while an external identity provider (IdP) such as Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, or FortiAuthenticator verifies the user's identity.

Security Benefit: This ensures that only authenticated users—not just anyone with a valid code—can successfully register an endpoint and receive the organization's security and VPN profiles. It prevents unauthorized "shadow" endpoints from joining the managed environment.

Incorrect Options:

Option A: Security posture tags are used after registration to determine if an endpoint is compliant (e.g., checking if an antivirus is active); they do not secure the registration process itself.

Option C and D: Device identification and application inventory are monitoring and visibility features that occur once the endpoint is already managed.

Refer to the exhibit. Based on the configuration shown in image_595357.jpg, FortiSASE will process sessions requiring FortiSandbox inspection in the following two ways:

A. Only endpoints assigned a profile for sandbox detection will be processed by the sandbox feature.

C. All files executed on a USB drive will be sent to FortiSandbox for analysis.

Answer: A, C

The provided exhibit displays an Endpoint Profile configuration specifically for the Sandbox module. This profile controls how the FortiClient agent on remote endpoints interacts with the integrated FortiSASE cloud sandbox engine.

Profile Assignment (A): In the FortiSASE architecture, security and endpoint settings are organized into profiles that must be explicitly assigned to users or user groups via endpoint policies. Consequently, the sandbox detection and remediation features are active only on those endpoints that have been assigned this specific endpoint profile. If an endpoint is not assigned a profile with sandbox enabled, it will not submit files for analysis.

Removable Media Analysis (C): Under the File Submission Options, the toggle for All Files Executed from Removable Media is enabled (shown in blue). Since USB drives are the most common form of removable media, this configuration ensures that any file executed from a USB drive is intercepted by FortiClient and submitted to the FortiSASE sandbox for behavioral analysis before being allowed to run, protecting the endpoint from offline-delivered threats.

Understanding Verdict Levels (B): The exhibit shows the Action is set to Quarantine and the Sandbox Detection Verdict Level is set to Medium. This configuration functions as a threshold; FortiClient will quarantine any file that receives a verdict of Medium or higher (including High and Malicious). Option B is incorrect because it claims only medium-level files are quarantined, which ignores the high-risk and malicious files that would also be blocked.

Sandbox Mode (D): The Sandbox Mode is clearly set to FortiSASE, which utilizes the built-in cloud-native sandbox. This contradicts Option D, which suggests the use of an on-premises or standalone sandbox appliance.

According to the NSE7 SASE Enterprise Guide (Pages 64 & 153), FortiSASE utilizes an intelligent engine to manage connectivity to private resources through various selection methods:

Hub Health and Priority: FortiSASE incorporates a built-in SD-WAN engine for intelligent routing selection among established IPsec links. The health check IP address periodically receives performance metrics, including jitter, latency, and packet loss, for each service connection. In this mode, FortiSASE evaluates the available hubs and selects the one with the highest priority (the most preferred value) within each POP, provided that the hub meets the defined service-level agreement (SLA) requirements. For this configuration to function correctly, both FortiSASE and the SPA hub must use the same Autonomous System Number (ASN).

BGP Multiple Exit Discriminator (MED): This method leverages the standard BGP MED attribute, which allows an autonomous system to signal its preferred entry point to a peer. FortiSASE learns the MED values advertised by the configured hubs. The architecture is designed so that the lower the MED value, the more preferred the path is to the receiving router. Consistent with the "Zero Trust" and "Secure Access" principles, even when using BGP MED, the selection is gated by the health engine; therefore, the hub is only selected if it also satisfies the configured SLA thresholds.

While SLA thresholds can be configured, the primary logic for hub selection focuses on how priority and dynamic routing attributes (like MED) interact with the real-time health of the tunnel.

Based on the detailed analysis of the provided exhibits (image_65feb6.jpg), the connectivity failure is caused by a mismatch in the Hub firewall policy configuration.

Endpoint Analysis: The Network Diagram shows the FortiClient endpoint has an IP address of 100.65.80.2/20 and currently carries the FortiSASE-Compliant ZTNA tag.

FortiSASE Policy Validation: The Private access policy on FortiSASE shows an "Accept" rule for traffic originating from "FortiSASE-Compliant" sources destined for "All Private Access Traffic". This confirms the traffic is successfully leaving the FortiSASE PoP.

Routing Validation: The Learned BGP Routes on FortiSASE table shows the prefix 10.160.160.0/24 (the Server subnet) is correctly received via Next Hop 10.11.11.1. Routing is correctly established.

Hub Firewall Policy Error: Examining the Hub firewall policy (edit 7), the srcaddr is set to "SASE_Remote_Access". Looking at the address object definition for "SASE_Remote_Access," it is configured with the subnet 10.11.11.0 255.255.255.0.

The Conflict: The FortiClient's actual IP address (100.65.80.2) does not fall within the 10.11.11.0/24 range defined in the policy's source address. On a FortiGate hub, for traffic to be permitted through the tunnel to the internal server, the firewall policy must include the specific subnet assigned to the remote clients, not just the tunnel interface subnet. Because the FortiClient address range is missing from the hub's policy, the traffic is dropped at the hub.

To restrict endpoints from certain countries from connecting to FortiSASE, the administrator should configure Geofencing. This feature provides granular control over which geographic locations are permitted or denied access to the SASE infrastructure.

Geofencing in FortiSASE

Geofencing is the primary mechanism for controlling remote user connectivity based on their origin.

Functionality: It uses a geography-to-IP mapping database to identify the location of incoming connection requests.

Access Modes: Administrators can choose between two main modes:

Allow: Only users from specified countries can connect; all others are blocked.

Deny: Users from specified countries are blocked; all others are allowed.

Configuration Path: In the FortiSASE GUI, navigate to Configuration > Geofencing to enable the feature and add the relevant countries.

Enforcement: Once enabled, the system automatically creates "local-in" policies to drop or permit traffic at the edge of the SASE PoPs before it can consume resources or attempt authentication.

The unified FortiClient component of FortiSASE facilitates the always-on security measure required for ensuring that all remote user endpoints are always connected and protected.

Unified FortiClient:

FortiClient is a comprehensive endpoint security solution that integrates with FortiSASE to provide continuous protection for remote user endpoints.

It ensures that endpoints are always connected to the FortiSASE infrastructure, even when users are off the corporate network.

Always-On Security:

The unified FortiClient maintains a persistent connection to FortiSASE, enforcing security policies and protecting endpoints against threats at all times.

This ensures compliance with the cybersecurity policy requiring constant connectivity and protection for remote users.

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) private access provides the most efficient and secure method for remote users to access a TCP-based application hosted on a private web server. ZTNA ensures that only authenticated and authorized users can access specific applications based on predefined policies, enhancing security and access control.

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA):

ZTNA operates on the principle of "never trust, always verify," continuously verifying user identity and device security posture before granting access.

It provides secure and granular access to specific applications, ensuring that remote users can securely access the TCP-based application hosted on the private web server.

Secure and Efficient Access:

ZTNA private access allows remote users to connect directly to the application without needing a full VPN tunnel, reducing latency and improving performance.

It ensures that only authorized users can access the application, providing robust security controls.

In FortiSASE, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) tags—also known as security posture tags—are used to dynamically grant or deny access based on the real-time security state of an endpoint. This mechanism ensures that only devices meeting specific compliance requirements can access protected resources or the internet.

Endpoint Analysis: The Managed Endpoints exhibit shows that while Jumpbox only has the FortiSASE-Compliant tag, the Windows-AD endpoint has been assigned both FortiSASE-Compliant and FortiSASE-Non-Compliant tags. This indicates that a security posture check on the Windows-AD device has failed, triggering a rule that applies the non-compliant tag.

Policy Evaluation: The Secure Internet Access Policy table shows two custom policies. The first policy, named Non-compliant, uses the FortiSASE-Non-Compliant tag as its source and has the action set to Deny. The second policy, Web Traffic, allows access for FortiSASE-Compliant users.

Root Cause of Outage: Because FortiSASE (powered by FortiOS) processes security policies in a top-down sequence, the "Non-compliant" policy is evaluated first. Since Windows-AD matches the source criteria for this "Deny" policy, its traffic is blocked before it can reach the "Accept" policy.

Although the exhibit shows a warning icon for the FortiClient version on Windows-AD, the direct cause of the internet outage is the explicit Deny policy triggered by the change in the device's security posture (the application of the Non-Compliant tag).

The Secure Internet Access (SIA) use case that minimizes individual workstation or device setup is SIA for agentless remote users. This use case does not require installing FortiClient on endpoints or configuring explicit web proxy settings on web browser-based endpoints, making it the simplest and most efficient deployment.

SIA for Agentless Remote Users:

Agentless deployment allows remote users to connect to the SIA service without needing to install any client software or configure browser settings.

This approach reduces the setup and maintenance overhead for both users and administrators.

Minimized Setup:

Without the need for FortiClient installation or explicit proxy configuration, the deployment is straightforward and quick.

Users can securely access the internet with minimal disruption and administrative effort.

To configure a Secure Private Access (SPA) solution to share endpoint information between FortiSASE and a corporate FortiGate, you need to take the following steps:

Add the FortiGate IP address in the secure private access configuration on FortiSASE:

This step allows FortiSASE to recognize and establish a connection with the corporate FortiGate.

Use the FortiClient EMS cloud connector on the corporate FortiGate to connect to FortiSASE:

The EMS (Endpoint Management Server) cloud connector facilitates the integration between FortiClient endpoints and FortiSASE, enabling seamless sharing of endpoint information.

Register FortiGate and FortiSASE under the same FortiCloud account:

By registering both FortiGate and FortiSASE under the same FortiCloud account, you ensure centralized management and synchronization of configurations and policies.

In FortiSASE, the requirement to redirect specific traffic away from the secure tunnel and through the local physical interface is achieved through Steering Bypass (commonly referred to as split tunneling).

Steering Bypass Destinations: This feature is configured within the Endpoint Profile settings. When an administrator adds a destination (such as the Google Maps URL or FQDN) to the Steering Bypass table, the FortiClient agent updates the local routing table on the endpoint.

Traffic Redirection: Traffic matching these bypass rules is explicitly excluded from the FortiSASE VPN tunnel and instead sent directly out of the device's local internet gateway (physical interface). This is ideal for optimizing bandwidth and reducing latency for trusted, high-volume applications like mapping services or video conferencing.

Analysis of Other Options:

Option A: ZTNA TCP access proxy rules are designed for secure access to private applications, not for managing how internet-bound traffic is routed.

Option B: While it uses the term "steering bypass," there is no "tunnel firewall policy" configuration for this purpose; the configuration is done at the endpoint profile level.

Option C: Exempting a URL in the Web Filter profile only instructs FortiSASE to skip security scanning (AV, DLP, etc.) for that traffic. The traffic would still be encapsulated in the tunnel and sent to FortiSASE, which does not meet the requirement to redirect it to the physical interface.

By configuring the Google Maps URL as a steering bypass destination, the organization ensures the traffic never enters the SASE tunnel, fulfilling the requirement for both traffic inspection (for all other traffic) and local redirection (for Google Maps).

Zero-trust tags are critical in implementing zero-trust network access (ZTNA) policies. Here are the two key advantages of using zero-trust tags:

Access Control (Allow or Deny):

Zero-trust tags can be used to define policies that either allow or deny access to specific network resources based on the tag associated with the user or device.

This granular control ensures that only authorized users or devices with the appropriate tags can access sensitive resources, thereby enhancing security.

Determining Security Posture:

Zero-trust tags can be utilized to assess and determine the security posture of an endpoint.

Based on the assigned tags, FortiSASE can evaluate the device's compliance with security policies, such as antivirus status, patch levels, and configuration settings.

Devices that do not meet the required security posture can be restricted from accessing the network or given limited access.