mcs(8)

🌸 mcs — the manual page, but make it a group chat 🌸

okay bestie, welcome to the mcs(8) page 💅 it lives in the mcs documentation section, and honestly? it's giving main character energy in the SELinux cinematic universe ✨

✨ NAME ✨

mcs — Multi-Category System 🎀

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so, MCS = Multiple Category System, and here's the tea 🍓: it lets users put labels on files on their system, inside categories that the administrator defines. then it uses SELinux Mandatory Access Control to protect those files. slay 👑

MCS is a discretionary model — meaning users get to mark their own data with additional tags that further restrict access. that's the vibe 💜

the only mandatory aspect is authorizing users for categories by defining their clearance in policy. that's the one thing you can't skip, no cap.

but here's the thing — MCS is similar to MLS and exercises the same code paths and share the same support infrastructure 🧚 they literally just differ in their specific configuration. same engine, different fit, iykyk 💅

the /etc/selinux/{SELINUXTYPE}/setrans.conf configuration file translates the labels on disk to human readable form ✨ administrators can define any labels they want in this file. certain applications like printing and auditing will use these labels to identify the files. and listen — by setting a category on a file you will prevent other applications/services from having access to the files 🚫🔒 (dramatic but true, that's the whole point)

examples of file labels would be PatientRecord, CompanyConfidential etc. 🎀 iconic, honestly.

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• selinux(8)
• chcon(1)

👑 FILES 👑

• /etc/selinux/{SELINUXTYPE}/setrans.conf

ok that's the whole page, go forth and label responsibly bestie 🫶

and a lil sign-off moment: this page was written by dwalsh@redhat.com and dated 8 Sep 2005 — yes, ancient, but the knowledge is eternal ⭐ mwah 💖