setcap
Set file capabilities for fine-grained privileges
TLDR
Set capability
$ setcap 'cap_net_raw' path/to/file
Set multiple capabilities$ setcap 'cap_dac_read_search,cap_sys_tty_config+ep' path/to/file
Remove all capabilities$ setcap -r path/to/file
Verify capabilities$ setcap -v 'cap_net_raw' path/to/file
Set for namespace$ setcap -n root_uid 'cap_net_admin' path/to/file
SYNOPSIS
setcap [OPTIONS] capabilities file
DESCRIPTION
setcap sets capabilities on files, allowing processes to gain specific elevated privileges without full root access. This provides fine-grained security control as an alternative to setuid binaries.
PARAMETERS
-r
Remove all capabilities from file-v
Verify specified capabilities match file-n rootuid
Set capabilities for specific user namespace+e
Effective flag - capability is active+p
Permitted flag - capability can be used+i
Inheritable flag - passed to child processes
INSTALL
sudo apt install libcap2-bin
sudo apk add libcap-setcap
CAVEATS
Modifying capabilities requires root privileges. Capabilities are cleared when a file is modified. Common capabilities include capnetraw (raw sockets), capnetadmin (network admin), and capsysadmin (various system admin tasks).
HISTORY
setcap is part of libcap, implementing POSIX 1003.1e capabilities on Linux.
SEE ALSO
getcap(8), capabilities(7)
