smack_cred_alloc_blank(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 smack_cred_alloc_blank(9) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual entry for smack_cred_alloc_blank — yes, that's the (9) section, we're in kernel-internals territory, and honestly? it's giving "small function, big responsibilities" ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

smack_cred_alloc_blank — "allocate" blank task-level security credentials

(yes the scare quotes around "allocate" are canon, the manpage said it first, not me 🫶)

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

int smack_cred_alloc_blank (struct cred *cred , gfp_t gfp );

🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

  • cred — the new credentials 💅 this is the fresh set we're setting up
  • gfp — the atomicity of any memory allocations (iykyk, it's the allocation-context flag situation)

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

So the whole vibe here is: prepare a blank set of credentials for modification. That's the job. That's the assignment. 🫡

And the important bit — no cap — is that this must allocate all the memory the LSM module might require, so that cred_transfer can complete without error. Like, all of it. Front-load the memory, bestie, because later there is no room for a "oops, ran out" moment 😭

lowkey this is the "buy everything at the store before you get to the kitchen" of credential setup. no mid-recipe store runs allowed. 🍓

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

Kernel file ./security/smack/smack_lsm.c — and honestly the whole smack extended family:

like… the whole function family showed up to the group chat 💀 every single one of them, no cap.

🫶 okay that's the page!! source path is ./security/smack, it's dated October 2026, and the whole thing lives under the Kernel API Manual umbrella. slay, go read the other 150+ smack entries, periodt. 💜🎀

📦 where this page comes from