How To Disable Selinux In Rhel 7

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by

Vector Linux
in

I remember when I first started working with RHEL 7, I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to disable SELinux. It seemed like such a simple task, but the steps weren’t as straightforward as I had anticipated. Today, I want to share with you my experience and guide you through the process of disabling SELinux in RHEL 7.

Understanding SELinux

Before we dive into the steps, let’s take a moment to understand what SELinux is and why you might want to disable it. SELinux, or Security-Enhanced Linux, is a security module that provides an additional layer of access control to your system. It restricts processes and users’ access to files, directories, and network resources.

While SELinux is undoubtedly a powerful security tool, it can sometimes interfere with certain applications or cause unnecessary complexity for developers and system administrators. Disabling SELinux might be necessary in certain situations, but keep in mind that doing so will lower the security level of your system.

Disabling SELinux

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of disabling SELinux in RHEL 7. Here are the steps:

  1. Open a terminal and log in as the root user.
  2. Edit the SELinux configuration file by running the following command:

vi /etc/selinux/config

This will open the file in the vi text editor. If you’re not familiar with vi, you can use a different text editor of your choice. Look for the line that says “SELINUX=enforcing” and change it to “SELINUX=disabled”.

Save the changes and exit the text editor.

  1. Reboot your system for the changes to take effect. You can do this by running:

reboot

After the reboot, SELinux should be disabled on your RHEL 7 system. However, it’s always a good idea to verify the status of SELinux to ensure that it has been successfully disabled.

  1. Open a terminal again and log in as the root user.
  2. Run the following command to check the status of SELinux:

sestatus

If SELinux is disabled, you should see “SELinux status: disabled” as the output.

Conclusion

Disabling SELinux in RHEL 7 can be a straightforward process once you know the steps. However, it’s important to remember that disabling SELinux will lower the security level of your system. Use caution and consider the potential risks before making this decision. I hope this guide has been helpful in your journey to disabling SELinux in RHEL 7. Happy system administration!