Which of the following information is stored in /etc/shadow for each user?

The correct answer is C. The hashed password of the user. /etc/shadow stores hashed passwords (and password-related metadata like expiry dates), deliberately separated from /etc/passwd so only privileged processes can read it. Option A is wrong because last login timestamps are tracked in /var/log/lastlog or /var/run/utmp. Option B is…

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Question

Which of the following information is stored in /etc/shadow for each user?

Options

AThe timestamp of the user's last login
BThe user's private SSH keys
CThe hashed password of the user
DThe numerical user ID (UID)
EThe path to the user's home directory

How the community answered

(23 responses)

A
9% (2)
B
4% (1)
C
70% (16)
D
17% (4)

Explanation

/etc/shadow stores hashed passwords (and password-related metadata like expiry dates), deliberately separated from /etc/passwd so only privileged processes can read it. Option A is wrong because last login timestamps are tracked in /var/log/lastlog or /var/run/utmp. Option B is wrong because SSH private keys live in the user's ~/.ssh/ directory, never in system files. Option D is wrong because the UID lives in /etc/passwd. Option E is wrong because the home directory path is also stored in /etc/passwd.

Memory tip: Think of /etc/shadow as the vault - it holds only the one secret thing (passwd can't safely store): the password hash. Everything else (UID, home dir, shell) is in the "public" /etc/passwd.

Topics

#user-authentication#password-storage#/etc/shadow#Linux-files

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