Capsh

Linux capabilities 101

capabilities
capsh
linux
setuid
tutorial

Introduction guide and tutorial about the inner workings of Linux capabilities and how these capabilities are applied when running Linux processes.

Summary

Security of Linux systems and applications can be greatly improved by using hardening measures. One of these measures is called Linux capabilities. Capabilities are supported by the kernel for some while now. Using capabilities we can strengthen applications and containers. Unfortunately, this powerful tool is still underutilized. Time to change that! This article helps to understand and apply them. What are Linux capabilities? Normally the root user (or any ID with UID of 0) gets a special treatment when running processes.