SMB Read partial. scoring engine got the file but the content is wrong

Authority mappings

Which work roles, knowledge units, and EWU courses this error pattern touches. Hover for context, click to drill in.

What the message means

The scoring engine fetched files from the `files` share but their contents don't match expected reference data. Typically means the share has the right filenames but either the files are empty, were modified, or are the wrong versions. This is 'partial'. give it priority if you see it along with SMB Login working.

Why the service is down

• Files exist but are empty (e.g., created with touch during hardening).
• Red team modified file contents.
• Wrong file version deployed (backup restored from before the competition).
• File system encoding mismatch (rare. CRLF vs LF etc).

Commands in order

1. 1. 1. Locate the share path

   copy testparm -s 2>/dev/null | awk '/^\[files\]/,/^\[/' | awk '/path = /{print $3; exit}'

   Expect

   e.g., /srv/samba/files

   Interpret and next

   Save as $SHARE for the next steps.
2. 2. 2. Inventory the files the engine expects

   copy ls -la $SHARE | head -30

   Expect

   A set of .data files including addict_with_a_pen.data

   Interpret and next

   Any zero-byte files are suspicious. Any missing files = create.
3. 3. 3. Find zero-byte files

   copy find $SHARE -size 0 -type f -ls

   Expect

   Either no output or a list of empty files

   Interpret and next

   Empty files = content lost. Restore from `/root/competition-backups/` if you backed up the share. Otherwise accept partial credit from Login + Attribute checks.
4. 4. 4. Check for red-team modifications

   copy find $SHARE -type f -mmin -30 -ls

   Expect

   Files modified in the last 30 min

   Interpret and next

   If anything was modified recently and it wasn't you, red team touched it. Restore from backup.
5. 5. 5. Restore from golden backup if present

   copy rsync -av --delete /root/competition-backups/files/ $SHARE/

   Expect

   File count matches pre-competition baseline

   Interpret and next

   If no backup exists, build one NOW for future competitions.

Decision tree

Answer each question to route to the right fix.

External references

• NCAE Cyber Games. official rules and scoring
• Samba smb.conf(5) man page

Other patterns on this service

• 4,415.3 failure SMB operation failed: [Errno 111] Connection refused
• 1,705.6 partial SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for addict_with_a_pen.data on files: Unabl.
• 1,197.2 failure SMB operation failed: [Errno 113] Host is unreachable
• 279.2 failure SMB connection failed: protocol error
• 262.5 partial SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for cottonwood.data on files: Unable to op.
• 105.6 partial SMB operation failed: Failed to retrieve before_you_start_your_day.data on files: Unable .
• 68.1 partial SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for .choker.data on files: Unable to open .
• 63.9 partial SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for air_catcher.data on files: Unable to o.
• 63.9 failure Failed to connect to host: IP
• 56.9 partial SMB operation failed: Failed to get attributes for addict_with_a_pen.data on files: Unabl.