Using the getcap command (with examples)

The getcap command is used to display the name and capabilities of specified files. It can be helpful in understanding the security settings and permissions of files in a system. In this article, we will explore different use cases of the getcap command and provide code examples for each.

1: Get capabilities for the given files

To get the capabilities for specific files, you can use the following command:

getcap path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...

• Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to check the capabilities of specific files in your system, such as binaries or executables.
• Explanation: Replace path/to/file1, path/to/file2, etc. with the actual paths to the files you want to check. You can specify multiple files separated by spaces.
• Example output:

path/to/file1 =
path/to/file2 =

2: Get capabilities for all files recursively under given directories

If you want to get the capabilities for all files recursively under certain directories, you can use the -r flag with the getcap command:

getcap -r path/to/directory1 path/to/directory2 ...

• Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to analyze the capabilities of files within specific directories and their subdirectories.
• Explanation: Replace path/to/directory1, path/to/directory2, etc. with the actual paths to the directories you want to search. You can specify multiple directories separated by spaces.
• Example output:

path/to/directory1/file1 =
path/to/directory1/subdirectory/file2 =
path/to/directory2/file3 =

3: Display all searched entries even if no capabilities are set

To display all searched entries, even if no capabilities are set, you can use the -v flag with the getcap command:

getcap -v path/to/file1 path/to/file2 ...

• Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to see all the files that have been searched, regardless of whether they have capabilities set or not.
• Explanation: Replace path/to/file1, path/to/file2, etc. with the actual paths to the files you want to check. You can specify multiple files separated by spaces.
• Example output:

path/to/file1 =
path/to/file2 =

These are three different use cases of the getcap command with code examples, motivations, explanations, and example outputs. By understanding and utilizing these use cases, you can effectively analyze the capabilities of files in your system.