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How do file permissions apply to symlinks?

Fresh5 days ago
Mar 15, 2026153272 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

Let's say you have this structure: is a link to another somewhere else on the system. Now let's say I the directory and all contents inside it. Does my in receive those permissions? Also, let's say we have the same situation but reversed. If I apply the permissions on the file being linked to, how does that effect the link?

Error Output

+ directory
-- file1
-- file2
-- file3 -> /tmp/file3

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1 Fix

Canonical Fix
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New Fix – Awaiting Verification

Fix for: How do file permissions apply to symlinks?

Low Risk

It depends on how you call and the platform you are running on. For example, on a Linux system, says this: never changes the permissions of symbolic links; the system call cannot change their permissions. This is not a problem since the permissions of symbolic links are never used. However, for each symbolic link listed on the command line, changes the permissions of the pointed-to file. In contrast, ignores symbolic links encountered during recursive directory traversals. However, on a Mac, ch…

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