ipe_update_policy(9)

💅 ipe_update_policy — Kernel API Manual, bestie edition 🎀

Okay so real talk, this page is from the ipe_update_policy(9) fam — kernel API manual energy, very "I live in ./security/ipe and I know things" of it. Let's get into it ✨

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✨ NAME ✨

ipe_update_policy — parse a new policy and replace old with it. That's it, that's the whole vibe: out with the old, in with the new, no cap 🔥

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

int ipe_update_policy (struct inode *root , const char *text , size_t
textlen , const char *pkcs7 , size_t pkcs7len );

Literally the whole signature, character for character, because we do not mess with the code around here 🫶

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• root — Supplies a pointer to the securityfs inode saved the policy. (Yes, that's the original wording, she's a little quirky but she's ours 💖)
• text — Supplies a pointer to the plain text policy. The words, the tea, the whole narrative ☕
• textlen — Supplies the length of text. Gotta know how much of the text is actually text, y'know?
• pkcs7 — Supplies a pointer to a buffer containing a pkcs7 message. Signed, sealed, delivered 📨
• pkcs7len — Supplies the length of pkcs7len. (Yes bestie, the manpage literally says the length of pkcs7len — we are quoting it exactly and not touching it 🙈)

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

text/textlen is mutually exclusive with pkcs7/pkcs7len — see ipe_new_policy. So like, pick a lane, babe. You get the plain-text route or the pkcs7 route, not both. It's giving "you can't sit with both tables at lunch" 💅

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👑 CONTEXT 👑

Requires root->i_rwsem to be held. So hold the lock before you come through, fr fr — this is not a "walk in whenever" situation 🔒

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

• 0 — Success 🎉 iconic, slay, we love a zero
• -ENOENT — Policy was deleted while updating 😭 she ghosted mid-conversation
• -EINVAL — Policy name mismatch 💀 wrong name, wrong person, block and move on
• -ESTALE — Policy version too old 🧓 bringing 2019 energy to a 2026 function, respectfully

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Kernel file ./security/ipe/policy.c — and its little friends: ver_to_u64(9), ipe_free_policy(9), ipe_new_policy(9), ipe_set_active_pol(9). Go read them, iykyk 🦋

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Heads up bestie: every flag, value, path and error code above is verbatim from the original page. The personality is new. The facts are not. Periodt 💅

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And that's the whole page! 🎀 Big kisses from the ./security/ipe directory, dated October 2026 — go forth and update that policy, main character 🧚‍♀️💖