For me running Ubuntu (16.04) on a Chromebook under Crouton (which is not a garden variety setup for sure), and using a cable with a counterfeit chip, it still "just works." However, even though I am a member of the Dialout group, I still need to do the "sudo chmod 777 /dev/ttyUSB0" each time. It is not a huge problem to do this, since I only program my Baofengs (UV-5R and UV-82HP) when I go from Washington to Arizona and vice-versa. It is most likely not CHIRP, not the cable, and not the Baofeng that is your problem.
Pat Anderson
KD7OAC