01
Choose one
1 point
A user has successfully proved their identity. Before allowing that user to open a particular file, which step determines whether the user has permission to do so?
Free Practice Quiz Question List
9 Protection and Operating-System Design Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 9 Protection and Operating-System Design, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
True or false
1 point
True or false: If an operating system has protection mechanisms, its resources are guaranteed to be secure even when those mechanisms are incorrectly implemented.
- A
True
- B
False
03
Written response
1 point
A file-processing service needs to read input files but does not need to modify them or access unrelated system resources. Which security principle should guide the permissions granted to the service?
04
Fill in the blank
1 point
A program needs the kernel to perform a privileged operation. It should request the service through a .
05
Choose one
1 point
Two processes need to exchange data through shared memory. Which operating-system design best preserves isolation while enabling this communication?
- A
Allow each process to access all memory so sharing is easy.
- B
Prevent any sharing, even when the processes need it.
- C
Keep the processes isolated by default and deliberately establish the required shared access.
- D
Let the processes decide independently which memory protections to ignore.
06
Fill in the blank
1 point
When concurrent threads might perform conflicting operations on shared data, mechanisms such as locks provide .
07
Written response
1 point
An operating system should avoid letting one activity monopolize resources indefinitely. What design goal does this support?
08
True or false
1 point
True or false: To provide isolation, an operating system must forbid every form of sharing between processes.
- A
True
- B
False
09
Choose all
1 point
A team is redesigning a kernel service that accepts requests from user programs. Which actions support a more protected design? Select all that apply.
- A
Check and validate requests before a kernel service performs a privileged operation.
- B
Keep privileged interfaces and components as small and understandable as practical.
- C
Allow a kernel service to trust all input from user programs without checking it.
- D
Give every component the authority to access every resource so requests never fail.
10
Choose one
1 point
A process is permitted to read a configuration file but has not been granted write permission. What should the operating system do when the process requests a write?
- A
Allow the write because the process can already read the file.
- B
Deny the write if the process has read permission but not write permission.
- C
Allow the write if the file is stored on a protected device.
- D
Deny all access to the file because read and write permissions must always be identical.
11
Choose all
1 point
A kernel service accepts unchecked input that can corrupt kernel memory. Which consequences are consistent with the operating-system design risks described? Select all that apply.
- A
The unchecked input could corrupt kernel memory.
- B
The resulting failure could potentially affect every process on the machine.
- C
The failure would necessarily be confined to the requesting process's virtual address space.
- D
File permissions would automatically prevent any kernel memory corruption.
12
Choose one
1 point
A user process needs to request an operation from a hardware device. Which approach best follows the operating system's device-protection model?
- A
Let the process directly control the device hardware.
- B
Have the process request device operations through operating-system interfaces.
- C
Allow access only if the process has its own virtual address space.
- D
Use scheduling alone to authorize the device operation.
13
Open ended
1 point
A file-processing system uses several worker processes. Each worker needs access to some files, and two workers must share selected data. Describe a protection design that limits the damage from a compromised or malfunctioning worker while still supporting the required work.
14
Choose one
1 point
A process may read a configuration file but may not modify it. Which description correctly identifies the subject, object, and permitted operation?
- A
The process is the subject, the configuration file is the object, and read is allowed while write is denied.
- B
The configuration file is the subject, the process is the object, and write is allowed while read is denied.
- C
The process is the object, the configuration file is a right, and both operations are allowed.
- D
The process is the subject, and authentication alone determines whether it may modify the file.
15
True or false
1 point
True or false: Operating-system isolation forbids all sharing of memory and other resources between processes.
- A
True
- B
False
16
Choose one
1 point
A service needs to read one data file and send results through a specific interface. Which permission strategy best applies least privilege?
- A
Give every component broad permissions so it can handle unexpected tasks without delay.
- B
Give each component only the permissions and resources its task requires.
- C
Give each component the same permissions as the operating-system kernel.
- D
Grant permissions based only on whether a component has been authenticated.
17
Written response
1 point
What is the security term for determining what an identified user or process is permitted to do?
18
Written response
1 point
Under secure defaults, what should generally happen to access when permission has not been explicitly granted?
19
Choose one
1 point
Which description best explains how virtual memory and system calls jointly limit a program's direct access to protected resources?
- A
Virtual address spaces let programs directly access kernel memory, while system calls are used only for file operations.
- B
System calls give programs unrestricted hardware access, while shared memory bypasses operating-system control.
- C
Virtual address spaces restrict direct memory access, and system calls let programs request kernel services that the kernel checks.
- D
Virtual address spaces prevent all sharing, so programs cannot use shared memory even when it is deliberately established.
20
Choose one
1 point
How can CPU scheduling support system availability?
- A
It helps prevent one activity from monopolizing CPU resources indefinitely.
- B
It verifies that each process has permission to read every file it requests.
- C
It ensures that concurrent processes cannot share data.
- D
It replaces access checks for devices by granting each process direct hardware control.