cred_fscmp(9)

💖 NAME 💖

Hiii bestie!! Welcome to cred_fscmp(9) from the Kernel API Manual — this is the page all about Compare two credentials with respect to filesystem access. It's giving kernel credential comparison realness, and we're gonna get into it 🦋✨

---

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int cred_fscmp (const struct cred *a , const struct cred *b );

---

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• a — the first credential, aka the first bestie in this comparison 💅
• b — the second credential, aka the other bestie in this comparison 💅

---

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

Okay so here's the tea: the description says cred_cmp will return zero if both credentials have the same fsuid, fsgid, and supplementary groups. Yes, the page literally says cred_cmp there — I'm not renaming it, bestie 💀

That is, if they will both provide the same access to files based on mode/uid/gid. Same access, same vibe, no cap ✨

If the credentials are different, then either -1 or 1 will be returned depending on whether a comes before or after b respectively in an arbitrary, but stable, ordering of credentials. Arbitrary but stable is the whole ordering moment, and I'm obsessed 🔥

---

👑 RETURN 👑

• -1, 0, or 1 depending on comparison.

That's the return section, periodt 💅

---

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

The SEE ALSO squad is the Kernel file ./kernel/cred.c, plus these icons:

• __put_cred(9)
• get_task_cred(9)
• prepare_creds(9)
• commit_creds(9)
• abort_creds(9)
• prepare_kernel_cred(9)
• set_security_override(9)
• set_create_files_as(9)

---

xoxo, your kernel bestie 💖 — brought to you by source ./kernel, dated October 2026, and signed cred_fscmp(9) at the very end ✨🎀