LPIC-1 Exam 101 v5 (Linux Administrator) — Question 43

Running chmod 640 filea.txt as a regular user doesn't update filea.txt's permission. What might be a reason why chmod cannot modify the permissions? (Choose two.)

Answer options

• A. filea.txt is owned by another user and a regular user cannot change the permissions of another user's file.
• B. filea.txt is a symbolic link whose permissions are a fixed value which cannot be charged.
• C. filea.txt has the sticky bit set and a regular user cannot remove this permission.
• D. filea.txt is a hard link whose permissions are inherited from the target and cannot be set directly.
• E. filea.txt has the SetUID bit set which imposes the restriction that only the root user can make changes to the file.

Correct answer: A, B

Explanation

The correct reasons are A and B. A is valid because a regular user cannot change permissions on files they do not own. B is also correct as symbolic links have fixed permissions that do not allow modification. The other options either misinterpret the functionality of the sticky bit, hard links, or SetUID, which do not apply to this scenario.