This LPIC-1 practice question tests your understanding of linux installation and package management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You are a junior administrator for a company that uses a standard disk image for all Linux servers. The image is based on CentOS 7. You need to ensure that new servers automatically install all available security updates during the first boot. You plan to run a command in a startup script. Which command should you use?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
yum check-update
Why wrong: Only lists updates, doesn't install.
yum install yum-cron
Why wrong: Installs yum-cron, but doesn't perform the update immediately.
yum update -y
Updates all packages automatically.
apt-get upgrade -y
Why wrong: apt is for Debian systems, not CentOS.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
yum update -y
Option C is correct because `yum update -y` installs all available updates, including security updates, without prompting for confirmation. On CentOS 7, this command updates all packages to their latest versions, which encompasses security patches. Running this in a startup script ensures that security updates are applied automatically on first boot.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
yum check-update
Why it's wrong here
Only lists updates, doesn't install.
yum install yum-cron
Why it's wrong here
Installs yum-cron, but doesn't perform the update immediately.
yum update -y
Why this is correct
Updates all packages automatically.
Clue confirmation
The clue words "first", "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
apt-get upgrade -y
Why it's wrong here
apt is for Debian systems, not CentOS.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates may confuse the command for listing updates (`check-update`) with the command for installing them, or mistakenly apply a Debian-based command (`apt-get`) to a Red Hat-based system like CentOS 7.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, `yum update` resolves dependencies and downloads RPM packages from configured repositories, applying updates to all installed packages. In CentOS 7, security updates are not tagged separately by default; `yum update` updates everything, while `yum update --security` (available with the yum-security plugin) would limit to security advisories. A real-world scenario is that using `yum update -y` in a startup script ensures compliance with security policies but may introduce non-security changes, so some environments prefer `yum update --security -y` after installing the yum-security plugin.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Linux Installation and Package Management — This question tests Linux Installation and Package Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: yum update -y — Option C is correct because `yum update -y` installs all available updates, including security updates, without prompting for confirmation. On CentOS 7, this command updates all packages to their latest versions, which encompasses security patches. Running this in a startup script ensures that security updates are applied automatically on first boot.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "first", "which command". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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