200-201 Host-Based Analysis Practice Question
During incident response, a Linux server is found to have an unknown process listening on a high TCP port. The process is not listed in any systemd unit files. Which command will best help identify the process parent and its command-line arguments?
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
✓
cat /proc/[pid]/cmdline && cat /proc/[pid]/status
The /proc filesystem contains per-process directories. Checking /proc/[pid]/cmdline and /proc/[pid]/status reveals the command line and parent PID.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
cat /proc/[pid]/cmdline && cat /proc/[pid]/status
Why this is correct
This retrieves command line and parent PID from the proc filesystem.
- ✗
ps aux | grep [pid]
Why it's wrong here
ps aux shows processes but not the full command line if truncated, and doesn't directly give parent-child relationships as efficiently.
- ✗
journalctl -u unknown.service
Why it's wrong here
The process is not associated with a systemd unit, so this won't work.
- ✗
ss -tlnp | grep [pid]
Why it's wrong here
ss shows network connections but not process parent details.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.