On a system using shadowed passwords, the correct permissions for /etc/passwd are ___ and the correct permissions for /etc/shadow are ___.

Permissions for `/etc/passwd` at `-rw-r-----` are too restrictive, preventing other users from reading essential account information.

Permissions for `/etc/shadow` at `-r--r--r--` are too permissive, allowing all users to read sensitive hashed password data, which is a significant security risk.

The `/etc/passwd` file, which lists user accounts but not hashed passwords in a shadowed system, typically has `644` permissions (`-rw-r--r--`), allowing all users to read it to identify usernames and UIDs. The `/etc/shadow` file, which stores the sensitive hashed passwords, must be strictly protected with `400` permissions (`-r--------`), granting read access exclusively to the root user.

Permissions for `/etc/passwd` at `-rw-r--rw-` are too permissive, allowing others to write to the file, and `/etc/shadow` at `-r-----r--` allows others to read, which are both critical security flaws.

Permissions for `/etc/passwd` at `-rw-------` are too restrictive, preventing non-root users from reading basic user account information required by many system utilities.