RHCSA User and Group Management Flashcards

Which file contains the encrypted password hashes for local user accounts on RHEL?

Answer: /etc/shadow

/etc/shadow stores encrypted password hashes and is readable only by root.

A user needs to be added to the 'wheel' group without removing them from their existing groups. Which command accomplishes this?

Answer: usermod -aG wheel alice

usermod -aG appends the group to the user's supplementary groups without removing existing ones.

What is the default password aging maximum number of days set for a new user created with useradd on RHEL?

Answer: 99999

By default, useradd sets PASS_MAX_DAYS to 99999, effectively meaning the password never expires.

Which command forces a user named 'bob' to change their password on next login?

Answer: Both A and B

Both 'passwd -e bob' and 'chage -d 0 bob' set the password last-changed date to epoch 0, forcing a change on next login.

What does the 'nologin' shell (e.g., /sbin/nologin) do when a user tries to log in interactively?

Answer: Displays a message and refuses the interactive login

/sbin/nologin prints a polite message and exits, preventing interactive logins while still allowing services like FTP.

Which command displays all groups a user named 'carol' belongs to?

Answer: Both A and B

Both 'groups carol' and 'id carol' show group memberships; id also shows UID and GID numerically.

A newly created user account is locked immediately after creation. Which useradd option causes this behavior?

Answer: Accounts are always locked until a password is set

useradd creates accounts without a password by default, leaving them in a locked state until a password is assigned with passwd.