This CKA practice question tests your understanding of workloads & scheduling. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A user creates a Deployment with replicas=3. Two Pods are running, but the third is stuck in ContainerCreating. 'kubectl describe pod' shows 'Failed to create pod sandbox: rpc error: code = Unknown desc = failed to create containerd task: OCI runtime create failed: container_linux.go:349: starting container process caused: exec: "/app": stat /app: no such file or directory'. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The container image does not have the /app executable at the specified path.
The error message 'exec: "/app": stat /app: no such file or directory' indicates that the container runtime (containerd) successfully created the sandbox and started the container process, but the command specified in the container's entrypoint or command tried to execute '/app', which does not exist inside the container image. This is a classic misconfiguration where the image lacks the expected binary or script at the given path, causing the container to fail immediately after creation.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The container image is not pulled due to authentication failure.
Why it's wrong here
Image pull errors would be reported as ErrImagePull or ImagePullBackOff.
✗
The container exceeds its memory limit and is killed.
Why it's wrong here
Memory limit exceeded would result in OOMKilled, not a container creation error.
✗
The node is not schedulable due to taints.
Why it's wrong here
Scheduling issues would result in Pending status, not ContainerCreating.
✓
The container image does not have the /app executable at the specified path.
Why this is correct
The error clearly states the executable /app is not found, indicating a misconfigured command or missing binary.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse a 'ContainerCreating' status with image pull issues or resource limits, but the specific OCI runtime exec error points directly to a missing executable in the container image, not to infrastructure or scheduling problems.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, when a container is started, the container runtime (e.g., containerd) uses the OCI runtime spec to create the container's cgroups, namespaces, and then executes the configured entrypoint/command. The error 'stat /app: no such file or directory' comes from the Linux kernel's execve() syscall failing because the binary does not exist in the container's filesystem. This often happens when a user specifies a custom command or entrypoint in the Pod spec that doesn't match the image's intended binary path, or when the image is built without the expected executable.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CKA question in full detail.
Workloads & Scheduling — This question tests Workloads & Scheduling — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The container image does not have the /app executable at the specified path. — The error message 'exec: "/app": stat /app: no such file or directory' indicates that the container runtime (containerd) successfully created the sandbox and started the container process, but the command specified in the container's entrypoint or command tried to execute '/app', which does not exist inside the container image. This is a classic misconfiguration where the image lacks the expected binary or script at the given path, causing the container to fail immediately after creation.
What should I do if I get this CKA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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