PR_GET_NO_NEW_PRIVS(2const)

💅 PR_GET_NO_NEW_PRIVS(2const) 💅

okay bestie, welcome to the PR_GET_NO_NEW_PRIVS page from the <linux/prctl.h> const-adjacent universe — this is a 2const page, so it's one of those little focused blorbos that lives alongside its sibling prctl(2) pages 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

PR_GET_NO_NEW_PRIVS — get the calling thread's no_new_privs attribute

no cap, that's literally it. you asking, kernel answering, no drama 🌸

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📚 LIBRARY 📚

Standard C library (libc, -lc)

yep, plain ol' libc, nothing exotic, we love that for us 💖

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

#include <linux/prctl.h>  /* Definition of PR_* constants */
#include <sys/prctl.h>

int prctl(PR_GET_NO_NEW_PRIVS, 0L, 0L, 0L, 0L);

not me passing four 0Ls like a little ritual 🕯️ they're all just zero, bestie, they're placeholders. prctl() has a fixed five-argument shape and this operation only cares about arg number one, so the rest are filler ✨

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So like. This one returns the value of the no_new_privs attribute for the calling thread. That's it. That's the whole plot 👑

And the value it hands back is a boolean, so let's vibe check the two possible readings:

• 0 — this means the regular execve(2) behavior. everything normal, no extra restrictions riding along.
• 1 — this means execve(2) will operate in the privilege-restricting mode described over in PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS(2const).

like, 1 is the "we locked it down" reading and 0 is the "we did not" reading. simple. iconic. periodt 💅

hot tip: if you want the full lore on what that privilege-restricting mode actually does and how to turn it ON, go read PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS(2const) — this page is just the getter, it's the reader, not the writer ✨

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👑 RETURN VALUE 👑

On success, PR_GET_NO_NEW_PRIVS returns the boolean value described above (so, 0 or 1, you know the drill).

On error, -1 is returned, and errno is set to indicate the error. classic. 😭

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🍓 FILES 🍓

• /proc/pid/status — since Linux 4.10, the value of a thread's no_new_privs attribute can be viewed via the NoNewPrivs field in this file.

ngl, peeking at NoNewPrivs in /proc/pid/status is the low-key way to check on a running thing without calling anything. absolutely obsessed with a file-based side quest 🌈

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⭐ STANDARDS ⭐

Linux.

just Linux. she's Linux-only and she knows it 💜

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🌸 HISTORY 🌸

Linux 3.5.

so she's been around since 3.5, an elder statesman of a tiny getter, respect 🫶

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• prctl(2)
• PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS(2const)

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⚠️ real talk though: this page documents a getter. The 0 vs 1 meaning only fully clicks once you've read PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS(2const), so don't skip your homework, bestie 😤

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and that's the whole page, mwah 💋 this was Linux man-pages version 6.20, dated 2026-02-08 — tysm for reading, go forth and get your no_new_privs responsibly 🎀✨💖