Fedora Google Chromium SELinux problem

Hey,

Quick entry to discuss a problem I have experienced lately on my Fedora 12 laptop. As I came back from a short vacation, I updated my fedora installation and downloaded a bunch of stuff, including a Google Chromium update.

When I tried to run Chromium, SELinux displayed an error an locked the browser, which would not start. Basically, the error message goes like this:

"The chromium-browse application attempted to load
/usr/lib/chromium-browser/libmedia.so which requires text relocation. This is a
potential security problem. Most libraries do not need this permission.
Libraries are sometimes coded incorrectly and request this permission."

I tried a few things with SELinux policies, as I read disabling it was not recommended unless completely necessary (it really is not and you should follow this recommendation, as you have many other internet browsing options, starting with Firefox).

In my case, I was unable to find a policy that would fix this problem, so after a bit of google searching, I found that this issue had been filed as a bug and acknowledged as such by developers. In fact, they proposed a working workaround. From a terminal, run the following command, which will likely require admin access:

chcon -t textrel_shlib_t '/usr/lib/chromium-browser/libmedia.so'

Once you complete that step, you should be able to open Chromium again. You may still see the SELinux error message, though.

A long term solution is in the works and will probably come in the next SELinux update.

Hope this helps!