chmod 135 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

135

Symbolic

--x-wxr-x

Binary

001 011 101

Risk Level

Moderate

Summary: chmod 135 gives the owner execute, the group write/execute, and everyone else read/execute.

Class	Read (4)	Write (2)	Execute (1)	Octal
Owner (u)				1
Group (g)				3
Others (o)				5

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

135

--x-wxr-x

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

chmod 135 filename

Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.

View the full chmod 135 guide →

chmod 135 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)	`3`	`-wx`	Write and execute	Can enter and create/delete files, but not list
Others (o)	`5`	`r-x`	Read and execute	Can list and enter

Is chmod 135 Safe?

Moderate

Every member of the group can modify this file.
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

135 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 775.

chmod 135 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 135 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 135 /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 135 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 642 makes new directories 135. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 135 mean?

chmod 135 gives the owner execute, the group write/execute, and everyone else read/execute. In octal notation, the owner receives 1 (execute), the group receives 3 (write/execute), and others receive 5 (read/execute).

Is chmod 135 safe?

chmod 135 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 135 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 135 is represented as --x-wxr-x. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=x,g=wx,o=rx filename".