010-160 Question #76: Real Exam Question with Answer & Explanation

The correct answer is C: The UID of the former owner is shown when listing the file's details.. This question tests understanding of how Linux handles file ownership metadata when a user account is deleted, given that Linux filesystems store ownership as a numeric UID.

Question

What happens to a file residing outside the home directory when the file owner's account is deleted? (Choose two.)

Options

ADuring a file system check, the file is moved to /lost+found.
BThe file is removed from the file system.
CThe UID of the former owner is shown when listing the file's details.
DThe user root is set as the new owner of the file.
EOwnership and permissions of the file remain unchanged.

Explanation

This question tests understanding of how Linux handles file ownership metadata when a user account is deleted, given that Linux filesystems store ownership as a numeric UID.

Common mistakes.

A. /lost+found is used by fsck to recover orphaned inodes caused by filesystem corruption or improper unmounting, not for files whose owner's account has been deleted.
B. Deleting a user account with userdel only removes the account entry and optionally the home directory; it does not delete files owned by that user elsewhere on the filesystem.
D. Linux does not automatically reassign orphaned file ownership to root when a user account is deleted - the original UID value is preserved in the inode unchanged.

Concept tested. File ownership persistence after user account deletion

Reference. https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man8/userdel.8.html

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