200-201 Host-Based Analysis Practice Question
In a Linux system, an analyst wants to check for unauthorized cron jobs. Which of the following is a common location for user-specific cron jobs?
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/
User-specific cron jobs are stored in /var/spool/cron/crontabs/ (or /var/spool/cron/ on some distributions), named after the user.
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/log/cron
Why it's wrong here
/var/log/cron is a log file recording cron execution events, not a directory holding job definitions, so it cannot reveal scheduled user jobs. It is tempting because checking logs is a natural analyst instinct and it does show cron activity, but the question asks where user-specific cron jobs are stored, which is /var/spool/cron/crontabs.
- ✗
/etc/cron.d/
Why it's wrong here
/etc/cron.d/ holds system-wide cron entries with an added user field, not per-user crontabs; user-specific jobs live in /var/spool/cron/. It is tempting because it is a cron directory, and would be correct when auditing system-wide scheduled tasks rather than individual users' jobs.
- ✗
/etc/crontab
Why it's wrong here
/etc/crontab is the system-wide crontab, whose entries specify a user field but which is not where per-user jobs live; user-specific jobs sit in /var/spool/cron/crontabs (or /var/spool/cron). It is tempting because it is a genuine cron file an analyst should review, but it is the wrong location for the user-specific jobs the question asks about.
- ✓
/var/spool/cron/crontabs/
Why this is correct
On Linux, user-specific cron jobs are stored per-account in /var/spool/cron/crontabs/, with one file per user. Inspecting this directory reveals unauthorised scheduled tasks created by individual accounts, which is exactly what the analyst needs to check.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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