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XK0-005 · Question #656

A developer is unable to access a Linux server via SSH. Given the following output: Which of the following explains why the developer is unable to log in to the server?

The correct answer is B. The developer's account has been locked out. The provided error message explicitly indicates that the developer's account on the server is locked, preventing any login attempts including SSH.

Troubleshooting

Question

A developer is unable to access a Linux server via SSH. Given the following output:

Which of the following explains why the developer is unable to log in to the server?

Options

  • AThe developer's private key has been deleted from the server.
  • BThe developer's account has been locked out.
  • CThe developer's public key is in the wrong location.
  • DSSH has been disabled for user log-in.

How the community answered

(57 responses)
  • A
    5% (3)
  • B
    91% (52)
  • C
    2% (1)
  • D
    2% (1)

Why each option

The provided error message explicitly indicates that the developer's account on the server is locked, preventing any login attempts including SSH.

AThe developer's private key has been deleted from the server.

A missing private key on the client side would prevent authentication, but the server-side message "Account locked" points to an issue with the user's account state on the server, not a client-side key problem.

BThe developer's account has been locked out.Correct

The error message "Account locked. Try again later" explicitly states that the developer's account is locked. This status directly prevents any login attempts, including those made via SSH, regardless of correct credentials or keys.

CThe developer's public key is in the wrong location.

A public key in the wrong location on the server would typically result in "Permission denied (publickey)" or similar errors, not an "Account locked" message.

DSSH has been disabled for user log-in.

If SSH were disabled for user login, the server would likely refuse the connection much earlier or give a more general "Connection refused" error, not an "Account locked" message after the authentication attempt.

Concept tested: SSH authentication failure - account lockout

Source: https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man5/shadow.5.html

Topics

#SSH#Linux server#Troubleshooting#User accounts

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