When PBR uses the set ip default next-hop command and the specified next hop is not present in the routing table, how are packets handled?

When set ip default next-hop is configured in Policy-Based Routing (PBR), the router attempts to forward packets to the specified next hop regardless of its presence in the routing table. Unlike set ip next-hop, which requires the next hop to be reachable via the routing table, set ip default next-hop acts as an override. This means the router will try to send the packet to that IP address, even if it has no route to it. This can lead to blackholing if the next hop is truly unreachable, but the PBR rule itself will still attempt the forwarding. Therefore, packets are forwarded to the specified next hop. The other options are incorrect because PBR with set ip default next-hop bypasses the standard routing table lookup for the specified traffic.