5.9.3. Checking the Default SELinux Context

Use the matchpathcon command to check if files and directories have the correct SELinux context. From the matchpathcon(8) manual page: "matchpathcon queries the system policy and outputs the default security context associated with the file path."[10]. The following example demonstrates using the matchpathcon command to verify that files in /var/www/html/ directory are labeled correctly:
  1. As the Linux root user, run the touch /var/www/html/file{1,2,3} command to create three files (file1, file2, and file3). These files inherit the httpd_sys_content_t type from the /var/www/html/ directory: 
    ~]# touch /var/www/html/file{1,2,3}
~]# ls -Z /var/www/html/
-rw-r--r--  root root unconfined_u:object_r:httpd_sys_content_t:s0 file1
-rw-r--r--  root root unconfined_u:object_r:httpd_sys_content_t:s0 file2
-rw-r--r--  root root unconfined_u:object_r:httpd_sys_content_t:s0 file3
  2. As the Linux root user, run the chcon -t samba_share_t /var/www/html/file1 command to change the file1 type to samba_share_t. Note that the Apache HTTP Server cannot read files or directories labeled with the samba_share_t type.
  3. The matchpathcon -V option compares the current SELinux context to the correct, default context in SELinux policy. Run the matchpathcon -V /var/www/html/* command to check all files in the /var/www/html/ directory: 
    ~]$ matchpathcon -V /var/www/html/*
/var/www/html/file1 has context unconfined_u:object_r:samba_share_t:s0, should be system_u:object_r:httpd_sys_content_t:s0
/var/www/html/file2 verified.
/var/www/html/file3 verified.
The following output from the matchpathcon command explains that file1 is labeled with the samba_share_t type, but should be labeled with the httpd_sys_content_t type: 
/var/www/html/file1 has context unconfined_u:object_r:samba_share_t:s0, should be system_u:object_r:httpd_sys_content_t:s0
To resolve the label problem and allow the Apache HTTP Server access to file1, as the Linux root user, run the restorecon -v /var/www/html/file1 command: 
~]# restorecon -v /var/www/html/file1
restorecon reset /var/www/html/file1 context unconfined_u:object_r:samba_share_t:s0->system_u:object_r:httpd_sys_content_t:s0

[10] The matchpathcon(8) manual page, as shipped with the libselinux-utils package in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, is written by Daniel Walsh. Any edits or changes in this version were done by Murray McAllister.