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LFCS · Question #211

Which of the following methods can be used to deactivate a rule in Snort? (Select TWO correct answers)

The correct answer is A. Place a # in front of the rule and restart snort. B. Write a pass rule in local.rules and restart snort with the o option. Snort rules can be deactivated by either commenting them out or by introducing a higher-precedence pass rule that matches the same traffic.

Submitted by devops_kid· Apr 18, 2026Service Configuration

Question

Which of the following methods can be used to deactivate a rule in Snort? (Select TWO correct answers)

Options

  • APlace a # in front of the rule and restart snort.
  • BWrite a pass rule in local.rules and restart snort with the o option.
  • CDelete the rule and snort will automatically reread its rules files within five minutes.
  • DAdd the rule to /etc/snort/rules.deactivated and it will take effect immediately.

How the community answered

(22 responses)
  • A
    86% (19)
  • C
    9% (2)
  • D
    5% (1)

Why each option

Snort rules can be deactivated by either commenting them out or by introducing a higher-precedence pass rule that matches the same traffic.

APlace a # in front of the rule and restart snort.Correct

Placing a hash symbol (#) at the beginning of a Snort rule comments it out, effectively disabling its functionality, and requires a Snort restart to load the updated rule set.

BWrite a pass rule in local.rules and restart snort with the o option.Correct

A `pass` rule, when placed with higher precedence (e.g., earlier in `local.rules` or included before other rule files) and matching the same traffic, instructs Snort to stop further rule processing for that packet, thereby deactivating an existing alert or log rule; Snort needs to be restarted for this change to take effect.

CDelete the rule and snort will automatically reread its rules files within five minutes.

Deleting a Snort rule requires a restart of the Snort daemon to take effect, as Snort does not automatically reread its rule files on a timed interval.

DAdd the rule to /etc/snort/rules.deactivated and it will take effect immediately.

Snort does not have a standard directory or mechanism like `/etc/snort/rules.deactivated` for immediately deactivating rules by simply moving them.

Concept tested: Snort rule management and deactivation methods

Source: https://www.snort.org/documents/snort_manual.pdf

Topics

#Snort#IDS#Rule Management#Configuration

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