XK0-006 Security Practice Question
An administrator wants to ensure that only users in the 'wheel' group can use the sudo command. Which directive in /etc/sudoers enables this?
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) ALL
%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL grants sudo access to all members of the wheel group.
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
Why it's wrong here
The runas section is malformed: 'ALL=ALL' omits the required parentheses around the runas user, so sudoers rejects or misparses the line. The correct syntax is '%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL'. It tempts because it correctly uses '%' for the group and 'ALL' for hosts and commands, matching the right structure apart from the runas parentheses.
- ✗
@wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL
Why it's wrong here
The '@' prefix denotes a host alias in sudoers, not a group, so this line is parsed as a host named wheel and grants nothing to the wheel group. Group specifications require the '%' prefix. It tempts because '@' is used for host lists in sudoers syntax, which is correct when restricting where a rule applies rather than who it applies to.
- ✓
%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL
Why this is correct
The %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL entry grants members of the wheel group permission to run any command as any user, identified by the leading % group prefix. This restricts sudo rights to wheel members alone, satisfying the requirement that only that group may use sudo.
- ✗
wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL
Why it's wrong here
This grants wheel members sudo rights but does not restrict sudo to only that group; any other authorised user or group entry still applies. The requirement is exclusivity, which needs the group specification plus removal of other grants. It tempts because it is the standard wheel sudoers line on many distributions, correct when the goal is simply enabling wheel access.
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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.