Free CompTIA XK0-005 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 7

The best tool to use when uploading the public key to the remote servers is B. ssh-copy-id. This tool will copy the public key from the local computer to the remote server and append it to the authorized_keys file, which is used for public key authentication. This tool will also create the necessary directories and files on the remote server if they do not exist. The other tools are either not suitable or not relevant for this task. For example:

A. scp is a tool for securely copying files between hosts, but it does not automatically add the public key to the authorized_keys file.

C. ssh-agent is a tool for managing private keys and passphrases, but it does not upload the public key to the remote server.

D. ssh-keyscan is a tool for collecting public keys from remote hosts, but it does not upload the public key to the remote server.

The presence of a static entry in /etc/hosts for www.comptia.org forces the system to use this IP address instead of querying DNS.

This prevents proper IPv6 (AAAA) resolution, as /etc/hosts only contains an IPv4 (A) record.

Removing this static entry allows the system to query DNS for both IPv4 and IPv6 records.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The ntpdate command synchronizes the system clock with a remote NTP server immediately, correcting any significant time drift. This is ideal for one-time corrections.

For example:

bash

CopyEdit

ntpdate pool.ntp.org

Other options:

A. hwclock reads or sets the hardware clock, but does not sync with network time.

C. timedatectl can set the time manually or manage time settings, but does not immediately sync with a remote NTP server.

D. ntpd -q can also sync the clock once, but ntpdate is designed specifically for immediate synchronization and is more straightforward for one-time corrections.

A is correct: Appending & runs the script in the background, allowing the user to continue using the terminal.

Incorrect Options:

B: Executes in the current shell, not background.

C: Invalid use of jobs.

D: Changes priority but still runs in foreground.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Reducing the attack surface area in Linux hardening refers to limiting possible points of unauthorized access. According to the CompTIA Linux+ Official Study Guide (Exam XK0-005), enforcing strong password policies is a critical aspect of security hardening. This practice ensures that user accounts are protected by passwords that are difficult to guess or crack, thus minimizing the risk of successful brute-force attacks. Implementing password complexity requirements (such as minimum length, use of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters) directly addresses one of the primary vectors for unauthorized access.

Other options do not have a direct impact on reducing the attack surface:

A. Customizing the log-in banner serves as a legal notification and does not affect system vulnerabilities.

B. Reducing the number of directories created is not related to hardening or access control.

C. Extending the SSH startup timeout period may give attackers more time to attempt a connection and does not increase security.

The firewall-cmd --list-services command will return the results for which the administrator is looking. This command will list all services that are allowed through the firewall in the default zone or a specified zone. A service is a predefined set of ports and protocols that can be enabled or disabled by firewalld. The firewall-cmd --get-services command will list all available services that are supported by firewalld, not only those that are allowed through the firewall. The firewall-cmd --check-config command will check if firewalld configuration files are valid, not list services. The systemct1 status firewalld command will display information about the firewalld service unit, such as its state, PID, memory usage, and logs, not list services. References: CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-005) Certification Study Guide, Chapter 18: Securing Linux Systems, page 543.

The issue occurs because the home directory /home/userA is owned by root, not by userA, as seen from the ls -lth /home output. In Linux, the user must have ownership of their home directory to log in and access their files properly. To fix this, the administrator must change ownership using chown userA:userA /home/userA.

A zombie process is a process that has completed execution but still has an entry in the process table because its parent process has not read its exit status. The best signal to send to the parent process is SIGTERM, which politely asks it to terminate and release the resources held by the zombie child processes.

To enable root login over SSH, the administrator must edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file, which configures the SSH daemon. The PermitRootLogin directive should be set to yes to allow root login. After making this change, the SSH daemon must be restarted for the changes to take effect.

umask subtracts permissions from default (666 for files, 777 for dirs).

To achieve 640 for files → umask = 137

To achieve 750 for dirs → umask = 027

The closest match to both for stricter permissions is umask 0037.