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Linux ‐ SELinux enforcing mode

tkarbach edited this page Mar 12, 2026 · 2 revisions

Description

'SELinux enforcing mode' rule checks out in which mode SELinux runs.

Enforcing mode is the default, and recommended, mode of operation; in enforcing mode SELinux operates normally, enforcing the loaded security policy on the entire system.

Impact

In permissive mode, the system acts as if SELinux is enforcing the loaded security policy, including labeling objects and emitting access denial entries in the logs, but it does not actually deny any operations. While not recommended for production systems, permissive mode can be helpful for SELinux policy development and debugging.

Disabled mode is strongly discouraged; not only does the system avoid enforcing the SELinux policy, it also avoids labeling any persistent objects such as files, making it difficult to enable SELinux in the future.

Diagnostics

Run the following command on each node to get SELinux mode:

/usr/sbin/getenforce

Resources

Include links to related documentation, knowledge-base articles, or external references.

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