+++ This bug was initially created as a clone of Bug #595823 +++

initscripts-9.12-1.fc13.x86_64

# touch /.autorelabel
# reboot

Observe on the console:

...
dracut: Loading SELinux policy
type=1404 audit(1274809124.580:2): enforcing=1 old_enforcing=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295
type=1403 audit(1274809124.948:3): policy loaded auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295
type=1404 audit(1274809124.954:4): enforcing=0 old_enforcing=1 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295
...

*** Warning -- SELinux targeted policy relabel is required.
*** Relabeling could take a very long time, depending on file
*** system size and speed of hard drives.
***********************************************


# sestatus 
SELinux status:                 enabled
SELinuxfs mount:                /selinux
Current mode:                   permissive
Mode from config file:          enforcing
Policy version:                 24
Policy from config file:        targeted

--- Additional comment from notting on 2010-05-25 14:01:05 EDT ---

enforcing needs to be off to ensure that autorelabeling works.

It will either reboot (which will go back to enforcing) or explicitly set it back to the prior state before continuing. See rc.sysinit for details.

--- Additional comment from chepkov on 2010-05-25 14:10:06 EDT ---

That what the reason for the bugzilla report
It does not set it back to enforcing after it's done

--- Additional comment from bucketofsnow on 2010-05-26 19:39:14 EDT ---

I can confirm this happens when "fixfiles onboot" is used as well.  The same result happens on my x86_64 system and i686 system. (Using either fixfiles onboot or touch /.autorelabel)

--- Additional comment from dwalsh on 2010-05-27 11:46:20 EDT ---

It is being caused by dracut.

In selinux-loadpolicy.sh  we have


	if [ $ret -eq 0 -o $ret -eq 2 ]; then
	    # If machine requires a relabel, force to permissive mode
	    [ -e "$NEWROOT"/.autorelabel ] && ( echo 0 > "$NEWROOT"/selinux/enforce )
	    return 0
	fi

Which causes the rc.sysinit to see it in permissive mode.

--- Additional comment from dwalsh on 2010-05-27 11:51:38 EDT ---

Having dracut set the permissive flag on boot helps in that if /bin/init is mislabeled of /lib and /usr/lib, apps will blow up before the restorecon starts.

But we need to tell init what the state of the box should be from dracut.

Or have the init script figure it out.

We need to check the kernel flag enforcing=0 and the enforcing flag in /etc/selinux/config and set it back to the proper state once the relabel finishes.

--- Additional comment from notting on 2010-05-27 11:58:24 EDT ---

Alternatively, we could have it *always* reboot. That's a hack, though.

--- Additional comment from dwalsh on 2010-05-27 13:27:49 EDT ---

Well actually that might be the correct behaviour, since way of knowing whether the rest of the machine was started correctly.   Of course you might end up in an infinite loop of reboots if the autorelabel=1 flag gets added to the /etc/grub.conf.