In Linux, if a password field has an 'x' in /etc/passwd, where are the actual password hashes stored?

• A. Password hashes stored in /etc/passwd
• B. On modern systems, password hashes reside in /etc/shadow
• C. Passwords are stored in LDAP by default
• D. Password hashes are kept in /boot

Answer: (B)

Password hashes are kept in a separate file called /etc/shadow. On modern Linux systems, the /etc/passwd entry for a user often shows an x (or sometimes * or !) in the password field, which means the real hash isn’t stored there anymore. The actual hash resides in /etc/shadow, which is protected so only privileged users can read it, reducing exposure of password data. The /etc/passwd file still holds the user’s account information (username, UID, GID, home directory, shell), but not the hash. /boot isn’t used for storing password hashes; LDAP is an optional centralized authentication backend and not the default local storage location for hashes.