updpwd_selinux(8)
π updpwd_selinux(8) β the SELinux policy for updpwd, bestie edition
okay so this whole page is about updpwd_selinux β the SELinux policy page for the updpwd processes. it lives in section 8 of the manual (that's the sysadmin-stuff section, iykyk). buckle up, we're getting into mandatory access control and honestly? it's giving secure. π
β¨ NAME β¨
updpwd_selinux β Security Enhanced Linux Policy for the updpwd processes πΈ
π¦ DESCRIPTION π¦
Security-Enhanced Linux secures the updpwd processes via flexible mandatory access control. no cap, that's the whole vibe.
The updpwd processes execute with the updpwd_t SELinux type. you can check if you have these processes running by executing the ps command with the -Z qualifier.
For example:
ps -eZ | grep updpwd_t
literally just run that and see who's wearing the updpwd_t fit π
π ENTRYPOINTS π
The updpwd_t SELinux type can be entered via the updpwd_exec_t file type.
The default entrypoint paths for the updpwd_t domain are the following:
/usr/bin/tcb_convert, /usr/bin/unix_update, /usr/bin/tcb_unconvert,
/usr/bin/pwhistory_helper, /usr/libexec/chkpwd/tcb_updpwd
those are the doors, bestie. walk through one of them and you're in updpwd_t. πͺβ¨
π PROCESS TYPES π
SELinux defines process types (domains) for each process running on the system.
You can see the context of a process using the -Z option to ps.
Policy governs the access confined processes have to files. SELinux updpwd policy is very flexible, allowing users to setup their updpwd processes in as secure a method as possible.
The following process types are defined for updpwd:
updpwd_t
Note:semanage permissive -a updpwd_tcan be used to make the process typeupdpwd_tpermissive. SELinux does not deny access to permissive process types, but the AVC (SELinux denials) messages are still generated. so like, it stops blocking but it's still gonna gossip about you in the logs π
π BOOLEANS π
SELinux policy is customizable based on least access required. updpwd policy is extremely flexible and has several booleans that allow you to manipulate the policy and run updpwd with the tightest access possible. β¨
If you want to allow all domains to execute in fips_mode, you must turn on the fips_mode boolean. Enabled by default.
setsebool -P fips_mode 1
If you want to allow Apache to use mod_auth_pam, you must turn on the httpd_mod_auth_pam boolean. Disabled by default.
setsebool -P httpd_mod_auth_pam 1
If you want to allow nagios/nrpe to call sudo from NRPE utils scripts, you must turn on the nagios_run_sudo boolean. Disabled by default.
setsebool -P nagios_run_sudo 1
If you want to allow system to run with NIS, you must turn on the nis_enabled boolean. Disabled by default.
setsebool -P nis_enabled 1
that -P is doing the heavy lifting btw β it makes the change persistent across reboots. main character flag energy. π
π§ MANAGED FILES π§
The SELinux process type updpwd_t can manage files labeled with the following file types. The paths listed are the default paths for these file types. Note: the process's UID still needs to have DAC permissions. (SELinux isn't gonna override your regular file permissions, bestie β it's a vibes layer, not a magic wand. π₯)
krb5_host_rcache_t
/var/tmp/krb5_0.rcache2
/var/cache/krb5rcache(/.*)?
/var/tmp/nfs_0
/var/tmp/DNS_25
/var/tmp/host_0
/var/tmp/imap_0
/var/tmp/HTTP_23
/var/tmp/HTTP_48
/var/tmp/ldap_55
/var/tmp/ldap_487
/var/tmp/ldapmap1_0
shadow_t
/etc/tcb/.+/shadow.*
/etc/shadow.*
/etc/gshadow.*
/etc/nshadow.*
/var/db/shadow.*
/etc/security/opasswd
/etc/security/opasswd.old
yup, that's the shadow file zone. very much "handle with care" territory. π
π FILE CONTEXTS π
SELinux requires files to have an extended attribute to define the file type.
You can see the context of a file using the -Z option to ls.
Policy governs the access confined processes have to these files. SELinux updpwd policy is very flexible, allowing users to setup their updpwd processes in as secure a method as possible.
πΈ STANDARD FILE CONTEXT πΈ
SELinux defines the file context types for the updpwd. If you wanted to store files with these types in different paths, you need to execute the semanage command to specify alternate labeling and then use restorecon to put the labels on disk.
semanage fcontext -a -t updpwd_exec_t '/srv/updpwd/content(/.*)?'
restorecon -R -v /srv/myupdpwd_content
Note: SELinux often uses regular expressions to specify labels that match multiple files. yes, regexes, in your labels. it's giving chaos but make it structured. π
The following file types are defined for updpwd:
updpwd_exec_t
- Set files with the
updpwd_exec_ttype if you want to transition an executable to theupdpwd_tdomain.
Paths:
/usr/bin/tcb_convert, /usr/bin/unix_update, /usr/bin/tcb_unconvert,
/usr/bin/pwhistory_helper, /usr/libexec/chkpwd/tcb_updpwd
Note: File context can be temporarily modified with thechconcommand. If you want to permanently change the file context, you need to use thesemanage fcontextcommand. This will modify the SELinux labeling database. You will need to userestoreconto apply the labels. ngl,chconis the "I'll fix it later" of SELinux and later never comes π
β COMMANDS β
semanage fcontextcan also be used to manipulate default file context mappings.semanage permissivecan also be used to manipulate whether or not a process type is permissive.semanage modulecan also be used to enable/disable/install/remove policy modules.semanage booleancan also be used to manipulate the booleans.system-config-selinuxis a GUI tool available to customize SELinux policy settings. (a GUI! for clicking! iconic.)
π«Ά AUTHOR π«Ά
This manual page was auto-generated using sepolicy manpage. so no human wrote this, it's a robot's little masterpiece. π€β¨
π₯ SEE ALSO π₯
selinux(8), updpwd(8), semanage(8), restorecon(8), chcon(1), sepolicy(8), setsebool(8)
and that's the whole page, bestie π this one came from updpwd, version-dated 26-10-06, and it's the updpwd_selinux(8) manual page β go forth and label responsibly, mwah ππ¦π
π¦ where this page comes from
- opensuse-leap 16.0: selinux-policy-doc 20250627+git412.dbf877ab7-160000.1.1 Β· GPL-2.0-or-later
- π girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on : a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms