What do the permissions -rwSr-xr-x mean for a binary file when it is executed as...

The permissions -rwSr-xr-x mean that the file is readable and writable by the owner, readable and executable by the group, and readable and executable by others. The S in the owner’s permissions indicates that the file has the SetUID bit set, which means that when the file is executed as a command, it will run with the effective user ID of the file owner, rather than the user who executed it. This allows the command to perform privileged operations that the user normally cannot do. For example, the /bin/passwd commandhas the SetUID bit set, so that it can modify the /etc/shadow file, which is only writable by root. References: LPI Linux Administrator, File Permissions and Attributes