LPIC-1 Devices, Filesystems and FHS Practice Question
Exhibit
$ mount tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
Refer to the exhibit. An admin attempts to execute a shell script located in /tmp but gets 'Permission denied'. Which mount option is most likely causing this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume 'Permission denied' always means missing execute bits (chmod +x), when in fact the noexec mount option silently blocks execution even with correct permissions.
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
✓
noexec
The 'noexec' mount option prevents execution of any binary or script directly from the filesystem, regardless of file permissions. Since the script is in /tmp and the admin gets 'Permission denied' despite correct execute bits, the /tmp partition is likely mounted with noexec, which is a common security hardening practice.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
relatime
Why it's wrong here
Controls atime updates, unrelated to execution permissions.
- ✓
noexec
Why this is correct
Prevents execution of any files on the filesystem.
- ✗
nodev
Why it's wrong here
nodev prevents device files, not execution.
- ✗
nosuid
Why it's wrong here
nosuid ignores set-user-ID and set-group-ID bits, but does not prevent execution.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This LPIC-1 practice question is part of Courseiva's free LPI 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 LPIC-1 exam.