LFCS · Question #300
To prevent a specific user from scheduling tasks with at, which of the following should the administrator do?
The correct answer is C. Add the specific user to /etc/at.deny file. To prevent a specific user from scheduling tasks using the at command, their username should be added to the /etc/at.deny file.
Question
Options
- AAdd the specific user to /etc/at.allow file.
- BAdd the specific user to [deny] section in the /etc/atd.conf file.
- CAdd the specific user to /etc/at.deny file.
- DAdd the specific user to nojobs group.
- ERun the following: atd --deny [user].
How the community answered
(32 responses)- C91% (29)
- D3% (1)
- E6% (2)
Why each option
To prevent a specific user from scheduling tasks using the `at` command, their username should be added to the `/etc/at.deny` file.
Adding a user to `/etc/at.allow` would *grant* them permission to use `at`, not deny them, assuming `/etc/at.allow` exists and takes precedence.
There is no standard `[deny]` section in `/etc/atd.conf` for directly denying users access to `at` jobs; user access is controlled by `at.allow` and `at.deny` files.
The `at` and `batch` commands consult `/etc/at.allow` and `/etc/at.deny` to control user access. If `/etc/at.allow` does not exist (a common scenario), then any user listed in `/etc/at.deny` is explicitly prevented from scheduling `at` jobs, effectively denying them access.
There is no standard `nojobs` group that specifically controls `at` access; `at` access is managed via the `at.allow` and `at.deny` configuration files.
`atd` is the daemon that runs `at` jobs, and `--deny` is not a standard option for `atd` to deny a specific user's scheduling capability; user access is managed through configuration files.
Concept tested: `at` command user access control
Source: https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/jammy/en/man1/at.1.html
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