CND Practice Question: Incident Detection Response And Threat Prediction
An incident response investigator is analyzing a Linux server compromised via a web shell. To determine when the web shell file was last accessed or modified, the investigator examines file timestamps. Which Linux command displays the complete file status including access, modification, and change (mtime, atime, ctime) times?
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
✓
stat
The 'stat' command in Linux displays detailed file status, including inode information, permissions, and all three timestamps (access, modify, change).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
find / -name '*.php'
Why it's wrong here
find locates files matching criteria, but does not output detailed stat attributes.
- ✗
ls -la
Why it's wrong here
ls -la only shows modification time by default, not all three timestamps in detail.
- ✓
stat
Why this is correct
The stat command provides granular details on access time (atime), modification time (mtime), and inode change time (ctime).
- ✗
cat
Why it's wrong here
cat displays file contents.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official EC-Council exam blueprint
This CND practice question is part of Courseiva's free EC-Council 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 CND exam.