EX200 Manage users and groups Practice Question
Which TWO commands can be used to create a new user account in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often think `adduser` is a separate, interactive command (as in Debian-based systems), but in RHEL 8 it is identical to `useradd`, and `passwd` or `groupadd` are often mistakenly chosen for user creation.
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
✓
adduser
Both `adduser` and `useradd` are commands that create a new user account in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. `adduser` is a symbolic link to `useradd` in RHEL 8, so they perform the same function. The `useradd` command creates a new user with default settings from `/etc/default/useradd` and `/etc/login.defs`, while `adduser` behaves identically.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
adduser
Why this is correct
On RHEL, adduser is a symbolic link to useradd, so it invokes the exact same low-level tool and creates a user account with the defaults defined in /etc/login.defs and /etc/default/useradd. Because it is just an alias, it does not provide an interactive front-end as it does on Debian-based systems, but it is still a valid way to create a new user.
- ✗
groupadd
Why it's wrong here
groupadd is the utility for creating a new group, not a user account. It writes a new entry to /etc/group and optionally /etc/gshadow, but it never creates a corresponding entry in /etc/passwd or /etc/shadow. Running groupadd alone will leave you with a group that has no associated user, so it cannot be used to create a user.
- ✗
usermod
Why it's wrong here
usermod is designed to alter attributes of an existing user account, such as the home directory, login shell, UID, or group memberships. It requires that the named user already exists in /etc/passwd; if the user does not exist, it fails with an error. Therefore, usermod cannot create a new user from scratch—it can only tweak accounts that have already been added.
- ✗
passwd
Why it's wrong here
passwd is the utility for setting or changing a user's password, which is stored in a hashed form in /etc/shadow. It expects the target username to already exist in /etc/passwd; if you supply a nonexistent username, passwd will refuse to proceed. Its sole purpose is authentication credential management, not account creation, so it is not a way to create a user.
- ✓
useradd
Why this is correct
useradd is the primary low-level command for creating a new user on RHEL. It reads the default values from /etc/default/useradd and /etc/login.defs, then creates an entry in /etc/passwd, sets up a group, and—if the -m flag is used or the system defaults demand it—creates a home directory. Note that useradd does not assign a password by default; the new account starts locked until you run passwd to set one.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This EX200 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Red Hat 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 EX200 exam.