chmod 524 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

524

Symbolic

r-x-w-r--

Binary

101 010 100

Risk Level

Moderate

Summary: chmod 524 gives the owner read/execute, the group write, and everyone else read.

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

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

Octal

Symbolic

Target File / Path

-R Recursive -v Verbose

524

r-x-w-r--

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

chmod 524 filename

Moderate Every member of the group can modify this file.

View the full chmod 524 guide →

chmod 524 Breakdown

Class	Digit	Symbolic	On a file	On a directory
Owner (u)	`5`	`r-x`	Read and execute	Can list and enter
Group (g)	`2`	`-w-`	Write only (rarely useful)	No practical effect without x
Others (o)	`4`	`r--`	Read only	Can list names, but not enter

Is chmod 524 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.
Unusual: a lower class has permissions the class above it lacks.

Common Use Cases

524 is uncommon in standard Linux setups. The closest widely used permission is chmod 500.

chmod 524 Command Examples

# Apply using octal mode
chmod 524 filename

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

# Recursive command warning:
chmod -R 524 /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 524 {} +

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

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

umask Relationship

A umask of 253 makes new directories 524. Test umask values with our interactive Umask Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does chmod 524 mean?

chmod 524 gives the owner read/execute, the group write, and everyone else read. In octal notation, the owner receives 5 (read/execute), the group receives 2 (write), and others receive 4 (read).

Is chmod 524 safe?

chmod 524 is classified as Moderate. Every member of the group can modify this file.

What is chmod 524 in symbolic notation?

In symbolic notation, chmod 524 is represented as r-x-w-r--. You can apply this permission using the equivalent symbolic command "chmod u=rx,g=w,o=r filename".