Linux Foundations

Module 39 lessons · 2 labsAbout 11 hoursModule overview

A program works in one terminal and fails in another. Before blaming its code, you need to know whether it received the same input, ran as the same user, and could reach the same files. The environment is part of the explanation, not just the place you happened to run the command.

That’s why our vulnerability research series starts with Linux. We’ll learn to inspect files, permissions, processes, and the shell, then preserve enough evidence for someone else to repeat an observation. You don’t need to memorize every command. You need to know which question a command answers and where to look when the result surprises you.

Learning objectives

Module outcomes

• Navigate using absolute and relative paths.
• Inspect files, permissions, processes, and environment state.
• Combine command-line tools to answer questions.
• Recognize commands that could alter or destroy data.
• Check a command’s output against the question it answers.

Prerequisites

Finish Welcome & Course Map, What Is a Virtual Machine?, the one setup path that matches your host, and Prepare Your Course Workspace before you start here. You should be able to open the Ubuntu terminal, find the course directories, stop a command with Ctrl+C, and restore the clean VM snapshot. We’re assuming no prior Linux command knowledge at all, so if that list looks fine, you’re ready.

Module sequence

1. Linux and the operating system
2. Shell, identity, and expansion
3. Navigating the Linux filesystem
4. File identity and metadata
5. Filesystem investigation lab
6. Users, groups, and permissions
7. Processes, jobs, and signals
8. Input, output, pipes, and redirection
9. Pipelines, search, and text evidence
10. Finding documentation and installing software
11. Linux investigation lab