200-201 Host-Based Analysis Practice Question
An analyst is investigating a Linux system for persistence mechanisms. Which TWO of the following are common locations for cron-based persistence? (Select TWO)
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
/var/spool/cron/crontabs/
Crontabs for users are stored in /var/spool/cron/crontabs/ and system-wide cron jobs are in /etc/crontab.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
/var/spool/cron/crontabs/
Why this is correct
User crontabs are stored here.
- ✗
/etc/init.d/
Why it's wrong here
This directory contains SysV init scripts, not cron.
- ✓
/etc/crontab
Why this is correct
This file contains system-wide cron schedules.
- ✗
/var/log/cron
Why it's wrong here
`/var/log/cron` stores historical execution logs for cron jobs, not the job definitions themselves. For persistence, an analyst must inspect the crontab files or directories (e.g., `/etc/crontab`, `/var/spool/cron/`) where scheduled commands are declared. It is tempting because cron logs confirm that jobs have run, which could mislead an investigator into thinking the log file itself is the persistence mechanism, whereas it merely records the output of a separate, pre-existing cron task.
- ✗
/etc/systemd/system/
Why it's wrong here
Systemd units are not cron-related.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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