Objective 2.2
XK0-005Given a scenario, implement identity management.
Objective 2.2 sits in Security, which carries 21% of the Linux+ exam. The questions below are original, written from the official objective title above, and each explanation cites the CompTIA page it rests on.
Objective title verbatim from the official objectives. CompTIA exam page ↗
A worked example
Shown solved, with the whole explanation open: this is what every question here carries.
An audit of a web server finds /etc/shadow set to mode 0644, world readable. The account names in /etc/passwd are public by design. What rule does the shadow file break here?
Correct.
Checked against man7.org, August 2026Concept
Password hashes moved out of the world-readable account list into a file whose whole design premise is restricted read access.
Why A
The shadow file holds the password and aging information and must not be readable by regular users if password security is to be maintained.
Source
shadow(5), shadowed password file, checked August 2026This file must not be readable by regular users if password security is to be maintained.
Now you: objective 2.2 questions
No account needed. The explanation opens when you answer.
Sample question 1 of 3
A technician inspects a service account's line in /etc/shadow and finds the password field begins with an exclamation mark. What does that mean?
Sample question 2 of 3
A user's password expired last month and a grace field allowed continued logins for a time that has now also elapsed. What is their state?
Sample question 3 of 3
During a hardening review, a line in /etc/shadow has an empty password field. What does that permit?
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Read the sources
These are the official pages the questions above cite. Reading them is studying the objective from the primary source, which is what the explanations point you toward anyway.