5.1 Basic Security and Identifying User Types (weight: 2) LINUX-ESSENTIALS Practice Questions (Page 4)

Questions 16–20

1. 16application · medium

   A junior admin needs to run a single privileged command to restart the web server on a production Linux server. The admin's regular user account is already in the sudoers group. Which command should the admin use to perform this task with the least privilege and without exposing the root password?

   • Asu - root
   • Bsu -c 'systemctl restart httpd'
   • Csudo systemctl restart httpd
   • Dsudo -i systemctl restart httpd
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
2. 17foundation · easy

   What is the primary security advantage of using sudo instead of su to perform administrative tasks?

   • Asudo does not require any password
   • Bsudo is faster than su
   • Csudo requires the user's own password and logs commands
   • Dsudo gives permanent root access
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
4. 18foundation · easy

   What is the primary purpose of system user accounts like 'www-data' or 'nobody'?

   • ATo provide a login account for remote administrators
   • BTo run specific services or daemons with minimal privileges
   • CTo allow multiple users to share the same home directory
   • DTo serve as backup accounts for regular users
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
5. 19application · medium

   A security auditor asks why the database service runs as user 'mysql' instead of root. What is the primary security reason for this configuration?

   • AIt prevents the service from being stopped by administrators.
   • BIt allows the service to access all files on the system.
   • CIt limits the damage if the service is compromised, as the mysql user has fewer privileges than root.
   • DIt makes the service faster because root has more overhead.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first
6. 20application · medium

   A regular user, bob, tries to edit the system-wide configuration file `/etc/hosts` with a text editor and gets a 'Permission denied' error. What is the most likely reason, and what is the correct way for bob to accomplish this task?

   • ABob's editor is broken; he should reinstall the text editor.
   • BThe file is hidden; Bob should use the ls -a command first.
   • CBob is not logged in; he should log in again as root.
   • DBob lacks write permission on the file; he should use sudo to edit it with elevated privileges.
   Reveal Solution Discussion Select an answer first