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49.2.2.3. SELinux Utilities

The following are some of the commonly used SELinux utilities:
  • /usr/sbin/setenforce — Modifies in real-time the mode in which SELinux runs.
    For example:
    setenforce 1 — SELinux runs in enforcing mode.
    setenforce 0 — SELinux runs in permissive mode.
    To actually disable SELinux, you need to either specify the appropriate setenforce parameter in /etc/sysconfig/selinux or pass the parameter selinux=0 to the kernel, either in /etc/grub.conf or at boot time.
  • /usr/sbin/sestatus -v — Displays the detailed status of a system running SELinux. The following example shows an excerpt of sestatus -v output: 
    SELinux status:                 enabled
SELinuxfs mount:                /selinux
Current mode:                   enforcing
Mode from config file:          enforcing
Policy version:                 21
Policy from config file:        targeted

Process contexts:
Current context:                user_u:system_r:unconfined_t:s0
Init context:                   system_u:system_r:init_t:s0
/sbin/mingetty                  system_u:system_r:getty_t:s0
  • /usr/bin/newrole — Runs a new shell in a new context, or role. Policy must allow the transition to the new role.

    Note

    This command is only available if you have the policycoreutils-newrole package installed, which is required for the strict and MLS policies.
  • /sbin/restorecon — Sets the security context of one or more files by marking the extended attributes with the appropriate file or security context.
  • /sbin/fixfiles — Checks or corrects the security context database on the file system.
Refer to the man page associated with these utilities for more information.
Refer to the setools or policycoreutils package contents for more information on all available binary utilities. To view the contents of a package, use the following command:
rpm -ql <package-name>