LFCS Essential Commands Practice Question
An administrator runs 'ls -la' and sees the following entry for a file: 'lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 24 Jan 10 12:00 link -> /etc/passwd'. If the target file /etc/passwd is deleted, what happens to the link file?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse symbolic links with hard links, assuming the link would become a regular file or automatically delete, when in fact a symlink simply becomes broken and persists until manually removed.
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
✓
The link becomes a broken symbolic link
The entry 'lrwxrwxrwx' indicates a symbolic link (symlink), which stores a path to the target file rather than sharing its inode. When the target /etc/passwd is deleted, the symlink still exists but points to a non-existent path, making it a broken (dangling) symlink. Accessing it will result in a 'No such file or directory' error.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The link becomes a hard link to the deleted file's inode
Why it's wrong here
A symbolic link does not become a hard link; it remains a symlink pointing to a now-nonexistent path.
- ✓
The link becomes a broken symbolic link
Why this is correct
The symlink still exists but points to a non-existent target, making it broken.
- ✗
The link becomes a regular file with the same content
Why it's wrong here
A symlink does not transform into a regular file.
- ✗
The link is automatically deleted
Why it's wrong here
A symbolic link is not automatically deleted when its target is removed.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LFCS practice question is part of Courseiva's free Linux Foundation 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 LFCS exam.