security_inode_setsecctx(9)

💅 security_inode_setsecctx(9) — the kernel API manual, bestie edition ✨

okay so real talk, this one lives in the Kernel API Manual and it's the hook you call when you need to change the security label of an inode. yes, that kind of label. the SELinux/AppArmor girlies know. 🎀

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🌸 NAME 🌸

security_inode_setsecctx — change the security label of an inode 💖

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int security_inode_setsecctx (struct dentry *dentry , void *ctx , u32 ctxlen );

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• dentry — inode (that's literally what it says, bestie, it's the inode hangin' off this dentry)
• ctx — secctx
• ctxlen — length of secctx

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so what does it actually do? it changes the security context of an inode. that's the whole vibe. 🔥

it updates the incore security context — the one managed by the security module — and then it invokes the fs code as needed (via __vfs_setxattr_noperm) to update any backing xattrs that represent the context. so it's keeping the in-memory copy and the on-disk xattr copies in sync, no cap. ✨

example usage: the NFS server invokes this hook to change the security context in its incore inode and on the backing filesystem to a value provided by the client on a SETATTR operation. iykyk 🫶

⚠️ important, do not skip this one: it must be called with inode->i_mutex locked. like, that's not a suggestion, that's the rule. lock the mutex first or you're gonna have a bad time. 💀

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

Returns 0 on success, error on failure. literally that simple. 🌈

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

this is the part where the manpage just name-drops the entire LSM cinematic universe, and honestly? iconic. it's all in the kernel file ./security/security.c, and the guest list is:

lsm_file_alloc(9), lsm_backing_file_alloc(9), lsm_blob_alloc(9), lsm_cred_alloc(9), lsm_inode_alloc(9), lsm_task_alloc(9), lsm_ipc_alloc(9), lsm_key_alloc(9), lsm_msg_msg_alloc(9), lsm_bdev_alloc(9), lsm_bpf_map_alloc(9), lsm_bpf_prog_alloc(9), lsm_bpf_token_alloc(9), lsm_superblock_alloc(9), lsm_fill_user_ctx(9), security_binder_set_context_mgr(9), security_binder_transaction(9), security_binder_transfer_binder(9), security_binder_transfer_file(9), security_ptrace_access_check(9), security_ptrace_traceme(9), security_capget(9), security_capset(9), security_capable(9), security_quotactl(9), security_quota_on(9), security_syslog(9), security_settime64(9), security_vm_enough_memory_mm(9), security_bprm_creds_for_exec(9), security_bprm_creds_from_file(9), security_bprm_check(9), security_bprm_committing_creds(9), security_bprm_committed_creds(9), security_fs_context_submount(9), security_fs_context_dup(9), security_fs_context_parse_param(9), security_sb_alloc(9), security_sb_delete(9), security_sb_free(9), security_free_mnt_opts(9), security_sb_eat_lsm_opts(9), security_sb_mnt_opts_compat(9), security_sb_remount(9), security_sb_kern_mount(9), security_sb_show_options(9), security_sb_statfs(9), security_sb_mount(9), security_sb_umount(9), security_sb_pivotroot(9), security_sb_set_mnt_opts(9), security_sb_clone_mnt_opts(9), security_move_mount(9), security_path_notify(9), security_inode_alloc(9), security_inode_free(9), security_dentry_init_security(9), security_dentry_create_files_as(9), security_inode_init_security(9), security_inode_init_security_anon(9), security_path_mknod(9), security_path_post_mknod(9), security_path_mkdir(9), security_path_rmdir(9), security_path_unlink(9), security_path_symlink(9), security_path_link(9), security_path_rename(9), security_path_truncate(9), security_path_chmod(9), security_path_chown(9), security_path_chroot(9), security_inode_create(9), security_inode_post_create_tmpfile(9), security_inode_link(9), security_inode_unlink(9), security_inode_symlink(9), security_inode_mkdir(9), security_inode_rmdir(9), security_inode_mknod(9), security_inode_rename(9), security_inode_readlink(9), security_inode_follow_link(9), security_inode_permission(9), security_inode_setattr(9), security_inode_post_setattr(9), security_inode_getattr(9), security_inode_setxattr(9), security_inode_set_acl(9), security_inode_post_set_acl(9), security_inode_get_acl(9), security_inode_remove_acl(9), security_inode_post_remove_acl(9), security_inode_post_setxattr(9), security_inode_getxattr(9), security_inode_listxattr(9), security_inode_removexattr(9), security_inode_post_removexattr(9), security_inode_file_setattr(9), security_inode_file_getattr(9), security_inode_need_killpriv(9), security_inode_killpriv(9), security_inode_getsecurity(9), security_inode_setsecurity(9), security_inode_listsecurity(9), security_inode_getlsmprop(9), security_inode_copy_up(9), security_inode_copy_up_xattr(9), security_inode_setintegrity(9), security_kernfs_init_security(9), security_file_permission(9), security_file_alloc(9), security_file_release(9), security_file_free(9), security_backing_file_alloc(9), security_backing_file_free(9), security_file_ioctl(9), security_file_ioctl_compat(9), security_mmap_file(9), security_mmap_backing_file(9), security_mmap_addr(9), security_file_mprotect(9), security_file_lock(9), security_file_fcntl(9), security_file_set_fowner(9), security_file_send_sigiotask(9), security_file_receive(9), security_file_open(9), security_file_post_open(9), security_file_truncate(9), security_task_alloc(9), security_task_free(9), security_cred_alloc_blank(9), security_cred_free(9), security_prepare_creds(9), security_transfer_creds(9), security_cred_getsecid(9), security_cred_getlsmprop(9), security_kernel_act_as(9), security_kernel_create_files_as(9), security_kernel_module_request(9), security_kernel_read_file(9), security_kernel_post_read_file(9), security_kernel_load_data(9), security_kernel_post_load_data(9), security_task_fix_setuid(9), security_task_fix_setgid(9), security_task_fix_setgroups(9), security_task_setpgid(9), security_task_getpgid(9), security_task_getsid(9), security_current_getlsmprop_subj(9), security_task_getlsmprop_obj(9), security_task_setnice(9), security_task_setioprio(9), security_task_getioprio(9), security_task_prlimit(9), security_task_setrlimit(9), security_task_setscheduler(9), security_task_getscheduler(9), security_task_movememory(9), security_task_kill(9), security_task_prctl(9), security_task_to_inode(9), security_create_user_ns(9), security_ipc_permission(9), security_ipc_getlsmprop(9), security_msg_msg_alloc(9), security_msg_msg_free(9), security_msg_queue_alloc(9), security_msg_queue_free(9), security_msg_queue_associate(9), security_msg_queue_msgctl(9), security_msg_queue_msgsnd(9), security_msg_queue_msgrcv(9), security_shm_alloc(9), security_shm_free(9), security_shm_associate(9), security_shm_shmctl(9), security_shm_shmat(9), security_sem_alloc(9), security_sem_free(9), security_sem_associate(9), security_sem_semctl(9), security_sem_semop(9), security_d_instantiate(9), security_getselfattr(9), security_setselfattr(9), security_getprocattr(9), security_setprocattr(9), security_ismaclabel(9), security_secid_to_secctx(9), security_lsmprop_to_secctx(9), security_secctx_to_secid(9), security_release_secctx(9), security_inode_invalidate_secctx(9), security_inode_notifysecctx(9), security_inode_getsecctx(9), security_post_notification(9), security_watch_key(9), security_netlink_send(9), security_unix_stream_connect(9), security_unix_may_send(9), security_socket_create(9), security_socket_post_create(9), security_socket_socketpair(9), security_socket_bind(9), security_socket_connect(9), security_socket_listen(9), security_socket_accept(9), security_socket_sendmsg(9), security_socket_recvmsg(9), security_socket_getsockname(9), security_socket_getpeername(9), security_socket_getsockopt(9), security_socket_setsockopt(9), security_socket_shutdown(9), security_sock_rcv_skb(9), security_socket_getpeersec_stream(9), security_socket_getpeersec_dgram(9), lsm_sock_alloc(9), security_sk_alloc(9), security_sk_free(9), security_sk_clone(9), security_sk_classify_flow(9), security_req_classify_flow(9), security_sock_graft(9), security_inet_conn_request(9), security_inet_csk_clone(9), security_inet_conn_established(9), security_secmark_relabel_packet(9), security_secmark_refcount_inc(9), security_secmark_refcount_dec(9), security_tun_dev_alloc_security(9), security_tun_dev_free_security(9), security_tun_dev_create(9), security_tun_dev_attach_queue(9), security_tun_dev_attach(9), security_tun_dev_open(9), security_sctp_assoc_request(9), security_sctp_bind_connect(9), security_sctp_sk_clone(9), security_sctp_assoc_established(9), security_mptcp_add_subflow(9), security_unix_find(9), security_ib_pkey_access(9), security_ib_endport_manage_subnet(9), security_ib_alloc_security(9), security_ib_free_security(9), security_xfrm_policy_alloc(9), security_xfrm_policy_clone(9), security_xfrm_policy_free(9), security_xfrm_policy_delete(9), security_xfrm_state_alloc(9), security_xfrm_state_alloc_acquire(9), security_xfrm_state_delete(9), security_xfrm_state_free(9), security_xfrm_policy_lookup(9), security_xfrm_state_pol_flow_match(9), security_xfrm_decode_session(9), security_key_alloc(9), security_key_free(9), security_key_permission(9), security_key_getsecurity(9), security_key_post_create_or_update(9), security_audit_rule_init(9), security_audit_rule_known(9), security_audit_rule_free(9), security_audit_rule_match(9), security_bpf(9), security_bpf_map(9), security_bpf_prog(9), security_bpf_map_create(9), security_bpf_prog_load(9), security_bpf_token_create(9), security_bpf_token_cmd(9), security_bpf_token_capable(9), security_bpf_map_free(9), security_bpf_prog_free(9), security_bpf_token_free(9), security_locked_down(9), security_bdev_alloc(9), security_bdev_free(9), security_bdev_setintegrity(9), security_perf_event_open(9), security_perf_event_alloc(9), security_perf_event_free(9), security_perf_event_read(9), security_perf_event_write(9), security_uring_override_creds(9), security_uring_sqpoll(9), security_uring_cmd(9), security_uring_allowed(9), security_initramfs_populated(9)

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okay that's the whole guest list, and yes it's basically the entire LSM friend group. 🧚💜

so anyway, this page ships from ./security and it's dated October 2026 — that's the version + date + source, all wrapped up in a cute little sign-off for you. go lock that i_mutex and slay, bestie. 💅✨🍓