🟢 Low   ⏱ 5–30 min  Last verified: 20 May 2026
Affected versions: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents
  1. Symptom & Impact
  2. Environment & Reproduction
  3. Root Cause Analysis
  4. Quick Triage
  5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
  6. Solution – Primary Fix
  7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
  8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
  9. Rollback Plan
  10. Prevention & Hardening
  11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
  12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

First boot of SLES 16 logs SELinux migration warnings even though AppArmor is the default LSM.

Environment & Reproduction

Seen on images that briefly enabled SELinux during preview phases.

Root Cause Analysis

Stale `/etc/selinux/config` or `selinux=1` kernel param confuses the boot scripts.

Quick Triage

Run `getenforce` and `cat /etc/selinux/config` to see the configured mode.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Inspect `journalctl -b 0 | grep -i selinux` for migration messages.

Illustrative mockup for sles-16 — selinux_migration-warnings_terminal
Terminal diagnostics for SELinux migration warnings during SLES 16 first boot — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Primary Fix

Set `SELINUX=disabled` in `/etc/selinux/config` (or remove the file), then update GRUB.

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Illustrative mockup for sles-16 — selinux_migration-warnings_logs
Logs and evidence for SELinux migration warnings during SLES 16 first boot — Illustrative mockup — Progressive Robot

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Re-enable AppArmor explicitly: `systemctl enable –now apparmor`.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

Boot logs show neither SELinux migration nor enforcement warnings.

Rollback Plan

Revert kernel parameters from snapper if changes break login.

Prevention & Hardening

Standardise on AppArmor in SLES 16 build profiles; remove SELinux artefacts.

Linked to confusion with RHEL-style audit messages.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for sles-16.

View all sles-16 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

SUSE security and AppArmor migration notes.

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