Permissions and users · Lesson 18 of 33 · 8 minutes

Ownership audit

Compare service account ownership across web files.

Open the lab Course map

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learner@clairos:~ $

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Your objectives

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1
Inspect web owner
Run stat /srv/www/index.html.
Hint & worked example
Inspect a file or directory metadata record, including ownership, permissions, and size.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
stat /srv/www/index.html
```
Remember: Metadata and file contents answer different questions.
2
Set owner group
Run sudo chown admin:www-data /srv/www/index.html.
Hint & worked example
Change ownership; on a real Linux system changing the file owner normally requires elevated privilege.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
sudo chown admin:www-data /srv/www/index.html
```
Remember: Ownership and mode bits are separate controls; inspect both.
3
Inspect owner again
Run stat /srv/www/index.html.
Hint & worked example
Inspect a file or directory metadata record, including ownership, permissions, and size.
The command outcome must match the task, including successful access or the explicitly requested failure.
```
stat /srv/www/index.html
```
Remember: Metadata and file contents answer different questions.

Understand the pattern

Junior operators build confidence by gathering evidence before changing systems.

stat: Inspect a file or directory metadata record, including ownership, permissions, and size.
Metadata and file contents answer different questions.
chown: Change ownership; on a real Linux system changing the file owner normally requires elevated privilege.
Ownership and mode bits are separate controls; inspect both.

Worked example and expected result

$ stat /srv/www/index.html

Path: /srv/www/index.html
Type: file
Mode: -rw-r--r--
Owner: www-data
Group: www-data
Size: 72 bytes

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

$ sudo chown admin:www-data /srv/www/index.html

(no output; exit 0)

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

$ stat /srv/www/index.html

Path: /srv/www/index.html
Type: file
Mode: -rw-r--r--
Owner: admin
Group: www-data
Size: 72 bytes

Exit status: 0. The command completed successfully in the training fixture.

Try a variation

Repeat this workflow in the sandbox with a different scratch filename. Keep the system fixtures unchanged and compare the observed output with your expectation before moving on.

Explain it

In “Ownership audit”, which interpretation is safe?A successful first check guarantees that every dependent service is healthy.Ownership and mode bits are separate controls; inspect both.A command appearing in history proves it completed successfully.

Apply it elsewhere

Before adapting the chown workflow from “Ownership audit” to another server, what should you do?Confirm the current directory, target identity, permissions, and the installed command behavior first.Paste the training paths unchanged into production.Skip output inspection whenever the command is familiar.

Keep the momentum.

Complete the lab, then explain and apply the pattern.

Next: Link permission review Try an incident drill

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