Cisco router with 3 spaces between `deny` and `icmp` I was configuring `deny icmp any any` traffic when I realized it was not in the config. I verified it with `do sh run | i deny icmp` command as follows: R1#configure terminal Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z. R1(config)# R1(config)#ip access-list extended 100 R1(config-ext-nacl)#deny icmp any any R1(config-ext-nacl)#exit R1(config)# For unknown reason, there are 3 spaces between `deny` and `icmp` and caused `do sh run | i deny icmp` command to fail. R1(config)#do sh run | i deny icmp R1(config)# It turns out the config is actually there with 3 spaces between `deny` and `icmp`. R1(config)#do sh run | i deny access-list 100 deny icmp any any R1(config)# What was the reason for this behavior? Is this normal?

Yes it's normal. It's just a "quirk" of how the configuration is formatted for display.