XK0-006 Security Practice Question
Which file contains the hashed passwords and password aging information for user accounts?
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
✓
/etc/shadow
/etc/shadow stores password hashes and aging fields.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
/etc/shadow
Why this is correct
/etc/shadow stores hashed passwords plus ageing fields such as last change, minimum, maximum and warning days, readable only by root. This satisfies the requirement for a file holding both hashed passwords and password ageing information.
- ✗
/etc/gshadow
Why it's wrong here
/etc/gshadow stores group passwords and group administrators, not user account hashes or password aging fields. It is tempting because it is a shadow file, but its scope is groups. The stem asks for user credentials and aging, which /etc/shadow provides.
- ✗
/etc/group
Why it's wrong here
/etc/group lists group names, GIDs and membership, holding no password hashes or aging fields at all. It is tempting because group passwords exist, but those live in /etc/gshadow, and aging data belongs to /etc/shadow. The stem requires the shadow file's hashed credentials and aging columns.
- ✗
/etc/passwd
Why it's wrong here
/etc/passwd holds account attributes such as UID, GID, home directory and login shell, with the password field merely an x placeholder pointing to /etc/shadow. It is tempting as the classic account database, but it stores no hashes or aging data, which the stem explicitly requires.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every XK0-006 question from scratch — 781 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or 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.