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CompTIA Linux+ (XK0-006) Fact Sheet

Quick Reference

Exam Code: XK0-006 (V8) Duration: 90 minutes Questions: Maximum of 90 (multiple choice and performance-based) Passing Score: 720 (scale of 100-900) Cost: Not verified (no price on the CompTIA page) Validity: Three years, renewable through the CompTIA CE program (see the table below) Delivery: Not verified on the pages read Languages: English

Verified facts and sources (checked 2026-11-07)

Fact Value Source
Exam code and version XK0-006, V8 CompTIA Linux+ page
Launch date July 15, 2025 CompTIA Linux+ page
Questions, length Maximum of 90, 90 minutes CompTIA Linux+ page and objectives PDF v5.0
Question types Multiple choice and performance-based Objectives PDF
Passing score 720 on a scale of 100-900 CompTIA Linux+ page
Domains and weights 23 / 20 / 18 / 17 / 22 (below) Objectives PDF (identical weights in v3.0 and v5.0)
Recommended experience 12 months hands-on with Linux servers; A+, Network+, Server+ recommended Objectives PDF
Accreditation ISO 17024, accredited by ANSI Objectives PDF
Retirement "Usually three years after launch," estimated 2028 CompTIA Linux+ page
Price Not verified. The page shows Buy Now links with no figure Check the CompTIA store for your region
Validity and renewal Linux+ is in the CE Program; CE requirements must be met "within three years of earning or renewing your certification." The CEU count for XK0-006 specifically was not verified; check your CompTIA Central account CompTIA CE Program FAQ
XK0-005 retirement A third-party guide reports January 13, 2026. Not verified on a CompTIA page Not an official source

The objectives PDF is published on a CompTIA file host as two documents with different version numbers (3.0 and 5.0), same domain weights. This guide follows version 5.0.

Exam Domain Breakdown

Domain Weight Focus
1.0 System Management 23% Boot, FHS, devices, storage and LVM, networking, shell, backup, virtualization
2.0 Services and User Management 20% Files, accounts, processes, packages, systemd, containers
3.0 Security 18% AAA, firewalls, hardening, SELinux, SSH, cryptography, compliance
4.0 Automation, Orchestration, and Scripting 17% IaC, shell scripting, Python, Git, responsible AI
5.0 Troubleshooting 22% Monitoring, OS and hardware, network, security, performance

Objective Map

Objective Topic Note
1.1 Basic Linux concepts 01
1.2 Device management 01
1.3 Storage 01
1.4 Network services and configuration 01
1.5 Shell operations 01
1.6 Backup and restore 01
1.7 Virtualization 01
2.1-2.6 Files, accounts, processes, software, systemd, containers 02
3.1-3.6 AAA, firewalls, OS hardening, account hardening, crypto, compliance 03
4.1-4.5 Automation, shell scripts, Python, Git, AI 04
5.1-5.5 Monitoring, OS and hardware, network, security, performance 05

Package Manager Equivalents

Task RPM family (dnf) Debian family (apt)
Install dnf install pkg apt install pkg
Remove dnf remove pkg apt remove pkg
Update all dnf upgrade apt update && apt upgrade
List installed rpm -qa dpkg -l
Files in a package rpm -ql pkg dpkg -L pkg
Package owning a file rpm -qf /path dpkg -S /path
Repository config /etc/yum.repos.d/ /etc/apt/sources.list.d/

Key Files

Path Purpose
/etc/fstab Filesystems mounted at boot
/etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group Accounts, hashes, groups
/etc/sudoers, /etc/sudoers.d/ sudo rules (edit with visudo)
/etc/ssh/sshd_config SSH server configuration
/etc/hosts, /etc/resolv.conf, /etc/nsswitch.conf Name resolution
/etc/netplan/ Netplan YAML (Ubuntu)
/etc/systemd/system/ Local unit files and overrides
/etc/pam.d/ PAM stacks
/etc/audit/rules.d/ Audit rules
/etc/issue, /etc/issue.net, /etc/motd Login banners
/var/log/ Logs (secure or auth.log for authentication)
/proc/mdstat, /proc/mounts, /proc/cmdline RAID state, mounts, boot parameters

Commands by Task

Task Commands
Storage lsblk, blkid, fdisk, parted, pvcreate, vgcreate, lvcreate, lvextend -r, xfs_growfs, resize2fs, mdadm
Network ip, ss, nmcli, netplan try, dig, tcpdump, mtr, ethtool
Users useradd, usermod -aG, chage, passwd -l, id, getent
Processes ps, top, pidstat, strace, nice, renice, kill, crontab
Services systemctl enable --now, systemctl mask, daemon-reload, journalctl -u
Security firewall-cmd, ufw, setfacl, chattr, restorecon, setsebool -P, auditctl, cryptsetup
Containers docker run -p -v -e, docker exec, podman ps, docker logs
Performance uptime, vmstat, iostat -x, free -h, mpstat, iperf3

Default Ports to Know

Port Service
22/tcp SSH, SFTP
25/tcp SMTP
53 DNS (UDP and TCP)
67-68/udp DHCP
80/tcp, 443/tcp HTTP, HTTPS
123/udp NTP
143/tcp IMAP
389/tcp, 636/tcp LDAP, LDAPS
88 Kerberos
2049 NFS
445/tcp SMB

📖 IANA Service Name and Port Number Registry - The authoritative port list

Official Resources