XK0-006 Security Practice Question
A system administrator needs to configure sudo so that members of the 'wheel' group can execute any command without a password. Which line should be added to /etc/sudoers (using visudo)?
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
✓
%wheel ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
To allow wheel group to run all commands without a password, the line should be '%wheel ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL'.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL
Why it's wrong here
This grants wheel members full command rights but still prompts for their own password, because no NOPASSWD tag is present. It is tempting as the conventional sudoers group entry and would be correct where password confirmation is required; the scenario explicitly demands passwordless execution, which only the NOPASSWD tag supplies.
- ✗
wheel ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
Why it's wrong here
Without the % prefix, sudoers treats 'wheel' as a username rather than a group, so no wheel member matches the rule. It is tempting because the NOPASSWD and command specifications are otherwise identical to the correct entry; it would be correct only if a local user literally named wheel existed.
- ✓
%wheel ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
Why this is correct
The %wheel prefix denotes a group entry, ALL=(ALL) grants every command as any user, and NOPASSWD: ALL removes the password prompt. This line satisfies the requirement that wheel members run any command without a password.
- ✗
%wheel ALL=NOPASSWD: ALL
Why it's wrong here
Missing (ALL) runas specification.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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