Linux Foundation Certified IT Associate (LFCA) — Question 1

A company’s IT associate lists the contents of a directory and sees this line:
-rwsr-x--x 2 bob sales 2047 Oct 10 09:44 sales-report
What happens when Alice from the accounting team tries to execute this file?

Answer options

• A. The script executes using Bob’s account.
• B. The script executes, but Alice cannot see the results.
• C. The script executes and Bob is notified.
• D. The script fails to execute; Alice is not on the sales team.

Correct answer: A

Explanation

The correct answer is A because the 's' in the permissions indicates that the script has the setuid bit set, allowing it to execute with the privileges of the file owner, Bob. Option B is incorrect because Alice will be able to see the results unless restricted by the script itself. Option C is also incorrect as there is no automatic notification system involved, and option D is wrong because the execution is allowed through the setuid mechanism, regardless of team membership.