In the chage command, what do the -M and -W options control?

• A. Maximum password age in days and password warning days
• B. Minimum password age and password warning days
• C. Password expiration date and banner
• D. Password length and history

Answer: (A)

Password aging controls when a user must change their password and when they’re warned about it. The maximum password age sets how long a password can be used before it must be changed, measured in days. The warning days specify how many days before that expiration a warning is shown to the user (for example when they log in), giving advance notice to update the password. So a command like chage -M 90 -W 7 user means the password must be changed at 90 days, and the user will be warned 7 days before it expires. This is separate from minimum password age, which prevents changing passwords too often, and from unrelated features like banners or password length/history.