chmod 115 Permission Explained

Notice: This is an unusual permission set: some classes have more access than the class above them. It is rarely correct in practice.

Octal

115

Symbolic

--x--xr-x

Binary

001 001 101

Risk Level

Low Risk

Summary: chmod 115 gives the owner execute, the group execute, and everyone else read/execute.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				1
Group (g)				1
Others (o)				5

setuid (4) setgid (2) sticky bit (1)

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

115

--x--xr-x

Owner: execute · Group: execute · Others: read/execute

chmod 115 filename

Low Risk Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.

View the full chmod 115 guide →

chmod 115 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents
Group (g)	`1`	`--x`	Execute only	Can enter (cd) but not list contents
Others (o)	`5`	`r-x`	Read and execute	Can list and enter

Is chmod 115 Safe?

Low Risk

Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.
Even the owner cannot modify this file without changing permissions first.
Scripts need read permission to run; only compiled binaries can be executed without it.
Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.

Common Use Cases

115 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 555.

chmod 115 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 115 filename

# Apply using equivalent symbolic mode
chmod u=x,g=x,o=rx filename

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 115 /path/to/dir
# Note: -R applies the same mode to files and directories. Use find to treat them separately:
find /path/to/dir -type d -exec chmod 115 {} +

# Verify permissions
stat -c '%a %A %n' filename    # Linux
stat -f '%Lp %Sp %N' filename   # macOS

# Example ls -l output:
---x--xr-x 1 alice staff 1024 Jan 15 10:00 example.txt

umask Relationship

A umask of 662 makes new directories 115. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 115 mean?

chmod 115 gives the owner execute, the group execute, and everyone else read/execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 1 (execute), the group receives 1 (execute), and others receive 5 (read/execute).

Is chmod 115 safe?

chmod 115 is classified as Low Risk. Any user can read this file — never use it for secrets such as keys or .env files.

What is chmod 115 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 115 is represented as --x--xr-x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=x,g=x,o=rx filename".