XK0-006 Security Practice Question
An administrator configures /etc/ssh/sshd_config with the following settings: PermitRootLogin no, PasswordAuthentication no, AllowUsers alice bob, MaxAuthTries 2. After restarting sshd, which of the following is true?
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
✓
User bob can log in using a public key.
PasswordAuthentication no disables password logins, so public key authentication is required. PermitRootLogin no prevents root login entirely. AllowUsers restricts to alice and bob only. MaxAuthTries 2 limits authentication attempts. So root cannot log in even with keys, and alice/bob must use keys.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
User charlie can log in using a public key.
Why it's wrong here
Charlie is not in AllowUsers, so access is denied.
- ✓
User bob can log in using a public key.
Why this is correct
Correct. Password authentication is disabled, but public key is allowed, and bob is in AllowUsers.
- ✗
User alice can log in using a password.
Why it's wrong here
PasswordAuthentication no disables all password logins.
- ✗
Root can log in using a valid password.
Why it's wrong here
PermitRootLogin no disallows root login regardless of method.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This XK0-006 question is part of Courseiva's 979-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This XK0-006 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 XK0-006 exam.