Practice 220-1202 Linux Commands and File Permissions questions with full explanations on every answer.
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A malicious script is suspected to have changed permissions on critical system files. The administrator needs to restore the /etc/passwd file to its default permissions, which are 644. The file is currently 777. Which command will set the correct permissions?
2A system administrator needs to find all files in /var/log that have been modified in the last 24 hours to check for recent activity. Which command accomplishes this?
3A helpdesk technician is assisting a user who is unable to find a file named 'notes.txt' they saved earlier. The user is in their home directory. Which command will search the entire filesystem for this file?
4A software deployment script fails because it cannot write to the /opt/app directory. The directory currently has permissions drwxr-xr-x and is owned by root. The script runs as a non-root user. Which command would allow the script to write files without compromising security more than necessary?
5During a security audit, a Linux server is found to have a configuration file that is world-writable. The file /etc/app/config.cfg must only be readable and writable by the root user. Which command should the administrator run?
6A user reports that a shared file on a Linux server is not accessible to their team. The file permissions are -rwxr----- and the user is a member of the group 'staff'. The file's group owner is 'admin'. Which command should the administrator run to allow the staff group to read the file?
7A technician is troubleshooting a web server that is not serving pages from /var/www/html. The directory permissions are drwxr-x--- and the web server runs as user 'www-data'. The directory is owned by root:www-data. Which command will allow the web server to read the directory and its contents?
8A security incident response team needs to identify all files on a system that have the SUID bit set, as these may pose a security risk. Which command should they use?
9A user reports that they cannot execute a custom shell script they created in their home directory. The script is owned by the user and has permissions set to 644. Which command should be used to allow the owner to execute the script?
10A technician is investigating a privilege escalation vulnerability. They need to list all files in /usr/bin that have the SUID or SGID bit set and are owned by root. Which single command will achieve this?
11A user reports that an application fails to start because a configuration file is owned by root with permissions 644, but the application runs as user 'appuser'. Which command will allow 'appuser' to edit the file without changing ownership?
12A junior admin needs to list all files in /var/log that were modified in the last 24 hours. Which command accomplishes this?
13A user cannot run a command because they get 'permission denied' even though they are in the sudoers file. The command is located in /opt/custom/bin. Which command will show the current permissions and ownership of the file?
14A help desk technician receives a complaint that a shared file in /opt/app/data cannot be read by any user except root. The file permissions are -rw-------. Which command will allow the group 'developers' to read the file?
15A technician needs to search for any file in /etc that contains the string 'Password' (case-insensitive). Which command should be used?
16A system administrator needs to change the group ownership of a directory /srv/data and all its contents to 'datagroup'. Which command will accomplish this recursively?
17A security incident is reported where a user accidentally deleted a critical script in /usr/local/bin. The script was owned by root and had permissions 755. Which command will restore the script from a backup located in /backup?
18A user reports that they cannot execute a shell script they wrote in their home directory. The script has permissions -rw-r--r--. Which command should be used to allow the owner to execute the script?
19A technician needs to create a new user 'jdoe' with a home directory and set the password in one command. Which command accomplishes this?
20A user reports that a script they run daily now fails with 'Text file busy' error. The script is located on an NFS mount. Which command will show if the script is currently being used by another process?
21A system administrator needs to add a new user 'jdoe' to the system and ensure that their home directory is created with restrictive permissions so that no other users can access it. Which command sequence achieves this?
22A security incident response team needs to find all files in /var/www that have the SUID bit set, which may indicate a privilege escalation risk. Which command should they use?
23A junior admin needs to list all files in the current directory, including hidden files, with detailed information such as permissions, owner, and size. Which command should they use?
24A help desk ticket states that a user cannot write to a shared directory /data/projects. The directory permissions are drwxr-xr-x and the user is in the 'staff' group. The directory's group owner is 'staff'. What is the most likely cause?
25A user complains that when they run the command 'find /var/log -name "*.log" -type f', they get a 'Permission denied' error for several directories. They need to see all log files regardless. What is the most appropriate command to use instead?
26A technician needs to copy a directory tree from /home/user/docs to a backup location /backup/docs, preserving all permissions, ownership, and timestamps. Which command should they use?
27A user reports that a script they run daily now fails with 'Permission denied' even though they haven't changed any permissions. The script is located in /usr/local/bin/script.sh and has permissions -rwxr-xr-x. The user is in the 'users' group. What is the most likely issue?
28During a forensic investigation, an analyst needs to list all files in a directory that have been modified in the last 24 hours, including hidden files, and display the results with full path and timestamp. Which command should they use?
29During a security audit, you find that a configuration file /etc/app/config.cfg has permissions -rwxrwxrwx. What command should you run to restrict it so only the owner can read and write, and the group can read, while others have no access?
30A user reports that they cannot execute a custom shell script they placed in their home directory, even though they can read and write to it. The script has permissions -rw-r--r--. Which command should you use to resolve this issue?
The Linux Commands and File Permissions domain covers the key concepts tested in this area of the 220-1202 exam blueprint published by CompTIA. Courseiva provides free domain-focused practice, mock exams, missed-question review, and readiness tracking across all 220-1202 domains — no account required.
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