What Linux feature allows Docker containers to listen on ports lower than 1024 without root privileges?

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The correct answer is capabilities. In Linux, capabilities provide a mechanism to separate the privileges of the root user into distinct units, allowing a process to gain specific privileges without being granted full root access. One of these capabilities is the ability to bind to low-numbered ports, which are traditionally restricted to the root user.

When Docker containers run as non-root users, they typically cannot listen on ports below 1024 because that is a system-wide security policy. However, by using capabilities, you can enable the container's process to bind to these ports while maintaining a lower security risk compared to running the entire container with full root privileges.

This feature enhances security by enabling fine-grained control over what specific actions an application can perform within the container environment, allowing containers to operate more securely and with reduced risk of privilege escalation.

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