During an onsite troubleshooting session, you discover that a RHEL-based server never reaches the login prompt because systemd crashes immediately after it is started. You need to obtain a root shell as early as possible so you can inspect and repair the broken service files. From the GRUB 2 menu you press e to edit the boot entry. Which single kernel command-line parameter should you append to the line that begins with linux so that the kernel starts /bin/bash as PID 1 instead of the normal init system, giving you an immediate shell before any init scripts or systemd units are processed?
The parameter init=/bin/bash tells the Linux kernel to execute /bin/bash as the very first userspace process (PID 1). Because no real init system is launched, the machine stops in a minimal root shell, letting you work even when systemd or SysV init is broken.
rd.break drops you into a dracut initramfs environment; it still relies on the initramfs infrastructure rather than replacing the system's init.
systemd.unit=rescue.target and single both depend on systemd to enter rescue (single-user) mode; if systemd is crashing, these options will not give you a usable shell.
Therefore, init=/bin/bash is the only choice that guarantees an immediate shell without starting any init system.
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CompTIA Linux+ XK0-006 (V8)
System Management
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