Linux Prevent File From Being Modified

By default, all files & folders are liable to modification unless the user does not have adequate permissions for it. But if you want to prevent any file from being modified, deleted or even renamed, then you need to change its immutable flag (i flag). In this article, we will learn how to prevent file from being modified in Linux.

Linux Prevent File From Being Modified

Here are the steps to prevent file from being modified.

Let us first create a new file test.txt for testing.

$ touch test.txt

You can use lsattr command to check the extended attribute values. By default, you will only see ‘e’ value in it.

# lsattr test.txt
Output:
--------------e---- test.txt

Next, we will add some content in this file since it is editable at this point.

# echo This is a test of immutable flag >> test.txt

# cat test.txt

Next, we will use chattr (for change attribute) to set the immutable flag (i flag) of the file.

# sudo chattr +i test.txt

Now let us once again look at the file’s extended attributes.

# lsattr test.txt
Output :

----i---------e---- test.txt

Now let us try modifying the above file.

# echo test-modification >> test.txt

-bash: test.txt: Permission denied

You will get a permission denied message when you try to modify the contents of the file. Next let us try to delete the file using rm command.

# rm -f test.txt

rm: cannot remove ‘test.txt’: Operation not permitted

When you try to delete the file, you will get ‘Operation not permitted’ message.

Finally, let us to try to move the file using mv command.

#  mv test.txt test2.txt

mv: cannot move ‘test.txt’ to ‘test2.txt’: Operation not permitted

Again, you will get ‘Operation not permitted’ message. As you can see, by setting the file’s immutable flag, it has become unmodifiable.

If you want to make it modifiable as before, use the chattr command as before, to remove the immutable flag.

# sudo chattr -i test.txt

Now you can once again verify the file’s extended attributes using lsattr command.

# lsattr test.txt
Output :

-------------e-- test.txt

Now you should be able to modify or delete the file as before.

In this article, we have learnt how to prevent file from being modified in Linux. This is useful for system administrators who want to prevent unauthorized users, or anyone for that matter, from modifying, renaming or deleting one or more files & folders.

Linux Prevent File From Being Modified

Linux Prevent File From Being Modified

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