[GH-ISSUE #5945] Unable to run server in container with a non root user #2292

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opened 2026-03-03 02:16:57 +03:00 by kerem · 0 comments

kerem commented

2026-03-03 02:16:57 +03:00

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Originally created by @MartinK07 on GitHub (Jun 10, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/issues/5945

Vaultwarden Support String

Your environment (Generated via diagnostics page)

Vaultwarden version: v1.34.1
Web-vault version: v2025.5.0
OS/Arch: linux/x86_64
Running within a container: true (Base: Debian)
Database type: SQLite
Database version: 3.49.1
Uses config.json: false
Uses a reverse proxy: false
Internet access: true
Internet access via a proxy: false
DNS Check: true
Browser/Server Time Check: true
Server/NTP Time Check: true
Domain Configuration Check: false
HTTPS Check: false
Websocket Check: true
HTTP Response Checks: true

Config & Details (Generated via diagnostics page)

Show Config & Details

Config:

{
  "_duo_akey": null,
  "_enable_duo": true,
  "_enable_email_2fa": false,
  "_enable_smtp": true,
  "_enable_yubico": true,
  "_icon_service_csp": "",
  "_icon_service_url": "",
  "_ip_header_enabled": true,
  "_max_note_size": 10000,
  "_smtp_img_src": "***:",
  "admin_ratelimit_max_burst": 3,
  "admin_ratelimit_seconds": 300,
  "admin_session_lifetime": 20,
  "admin_token": "***",
  "allowed_connect_src": "",
  "allowed_iframe_ancestors": "",
  "attachments_folder": "data/attachments",
  "auth_request_purge_schedule": "30 * * * * *",
  "authenticator_disable_time_drift": false,
  "data_folder": "data",
  "database_conn_init": "",
  "database_max_conns": 10,
  "database_timeout": 30,
  "database_url": "***************",
  "db_connection_retries": 15,
  "disable_2fa_remember": false,
  "disable_admin_token": false,
  "disable_icon_download": false,
  "domain": "****://*********",
  "domain_origin": "****://*********",
  "domain_path": "",
  "domain_set": false,
  "duo_context_purge_schedule": "30 * * * * *",
  "duo_host": null,
  "duo_ikey": null,
  "duo_skey": null,
  "duo_use_iframe": false,
  "email_2fa_auto_fallback": false,
  "email_2fa_enforce_on_verified_invite": false,
  "email_attempts_limit": 3,
  "email_change_allowed": true,
  "email_expiration_time": 600,
  "email_token_size": 6,
  "emergency_access_allowed": true,
  "emergency_notification_reminder_schedule": "0 3 * * * *",
  "emergency_request_timeout_schedule": "0 7 * * * *",
  "enable_db_wal": true,
  "enable_websocket": true,
  "enforce_single_org_with_reset_pw_policy": false,
  "event_cleanup_schedule": "0 10 0 * * *",
  "events_days_retain": null,
  "experimental_client_feature_flags": "",
  "extended_logging": true,
  "helo_name": null,
  "hibp_api_key": null,
  "http_request_block_non_global_ips": true,
  "http_request_block_regex": null,
  "icon_blacklist_non_global_ips": true,
  "icon_blacklist_regex": null,
  "icon_cache_folder": "data/icon_cache",
  "icon_cache_negttl": 259200,
  "icon_cache_ttl": 2592000,
  "icon_download_timeout": 10,
  "icon_redirect_code": 302,
  "icon_service": "internal",
  "incomplete_2fa_schedule": "30 * * * * *",
  "incomplete_2fa_time_limit": 3,
  "increase_note_size_limit": false,
  "invitation_expiration_hours": 120,
  "invitation_org_name": "Vaultwarden",
  "invitations_allowed": true,
  "ip_header": "X-Real-IP",
  "job_poll_interval_ms": 30000,
  "log_file": null,
  "log_level": "info",
  "log_timestamp_format": "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%3f",
  "login_ratelimit_max_burst": 10,
  "login_ratelimit_seconds": 60,
  "org_attachment_limit": null,
  "org_creation_users": "",
  "org_events_enabled": false,
  "org_groups_enabled": true,
  "password_hints_allowed": true,
  "password_iterations": 600000,
  "push_enabled": false,
  "push_identity_uri": "https://identity.bitwarden.com",
  "push_installation_id": "***",
  "push_installation_key": "***",
  "push_relay_uri": "https://push.bitwarden.com",
  "reload_templates": false,
  "require_device_email": false,
  "rsa_key_filename": "data/rsa_key",
  "send_purge_schedule": "0 5 * * * *",
  "sendmail_command": null,
  "sends_allowed": true,
  "sends_folder": "data/sends",
  "show_password_hint": false,
  "signups_allowed": true,
  "signups_domains_whitelist": "",
  "signups_verify": false,
  "signups_verify_resend_limit": 6,
  "signups_verify_resend_time": 3600,
  "smtp_accept_invalid_certs": false,
  "smtp_accept_invalid_hostnames": false,
  "smtp_auth_mechanism": null,
  "smtp_debug": false,
  "smtp_embed_images": true,
  "smtp_explicit_tls": null,
  "smtp_from": "",
  "smtp_from_name": "Vaultwarden",
  "smtp_host": null,
  "smtp_password": null,
  "smtp_port": 587,
  "smtp_security": "starttls",
  "smtp_ssl": null,
  "smtp_timeout": 15,
  "smtp_username": null,
  "templates_folder": "data/templates",
  "tmp_folder": "data/tmp",
  "trash_auto_delete_days": null,
  "trash_purge_schedule": "0 5 0 * * *",
  "use_sendmail": false,
  "use_syslog": false,
  "user_attachment_limit": null,
  "user_send_limit": null,
  "web_vault_enabled": true,
  "web_vault_folder": "web-vault/",
  "yubico_client_id": null,
  "yubico_secret_key": null,
  "yubico_server": null
}

Vaultwarden Build Version

vaultwarden/server:1.34.1

Deployment method

Official Container Image

Custom deployment method

No response

Reverse Proxy

None

Host/Server Operating System

Linux

Operating System Version

Fedora 42

Clients

Web Vault

Client Version

No response

Steps To Reproduce

Start a new container with userid option set to a non root id (this is similar to the runAsNonRoot: true setting in Kubernetes):

podman run -it --name vault -p 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 -e ROCKET_PORT=8080 -e ORG_GROUPS_ENABLED=true -e ADMIN_TOKEN=test123 -e I_REALLY_WANT_VOLATILE_STORAGE=true --user 1000 -v test:/data vaultwarden/server:1.34.1

Expected Result

Process starts and is able to write into the /data directory.

Actual Result

Container fails to write into /data, because the permissions are readonly for the user that the vaultwarden process starts under (UID 1000 | GID 0)

Logs

/--------------------------------------------------------------------\
|                        Starting Vaultwarden                        |
|                           Version 1.34.1                           |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| This is an *unofficial* Bitwarden implementation, DO NOT use the   |
| official channels to report bugs/features, regardless of client.   |
| Send usage/configuration questions or feature requests to:         |
|   https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/discussions or        |
|   https://vaultwarden.discourse.group/                             |
| Report suspected bugs/issues in the software itself at:            |
|   https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/issues/new            |
\--------------------------------------------------------------------/

[NOTICE] You are using a plain text `ADMIN_TOKEN` which is insecure.
Please generate a secure Argon2 PHC string by using `vaultwarden hash` or `argon2`.
See: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Enabling-admin-page#secure-the-admin_token

[2025-06-10 08:08:14.190][vaultwarden][ERROR] Error creating private key 'data/rsa_key.pem'
Io.
[CAUSE] Os {
    code: 2,
    kind: NotFound,
    message: "No such file or directory",
}

Screenshots or Videos

No response

Additional Context

Even if the default user for the container user is overwritten e.g. --user 1000 or runAsNonRoot: true + runAsUser: 1000 in Kubernetes, the groupid usually stays GID 0 (root):

user@2add75c266e1:/$ id
uid=1000(user) gid=0(root) groups=0(root)

With this in mind, a simple fix for this would be setting the permissions for the /data directory during the dockerbuild process to 775 instead of 755.

Originally created by @MartinK07 on GitHub (Jun 10, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/issues/5945 ### Vaultwarden Support String ### Your environment (Generated via diagnostics page) * Vaultwarden version: v1.34.1 * Web-vault version: v2025.5.0 * OS/Arch: linux/x86_64 * Running within a container: true (Base: Debian) * Database type: SQLite * Database version: 3.49.1 * Uses config.json: false * Uses a reverse proxy: false * Internet access: true * Internet access via a proxy: false * DNS Check: true * Browser/Server Time Check: true * Server/NTP Time Check: true * Domain Configuration Check: false * HTTPS Check: false * Websocket Check: true * HTTP Response Checks: true ### Config & Details (Generated via diagnostics page) <details><summary>Show Config & Details</summary> **Config:** ```json { "_duo_akey": null, "_enable_duo": true, "_enable_email_2fa": false, "_enable_smtp": true, "_enable_yubico": true, "_icon_service_csp": "", "_icon_service_url": "", "_ip_header_enabled": true, "_max_note_size": 10000, "_smtp_img_src": "***:", "admin_ratelimit_max_burst": 3, "admin_ratelimit_seconds": 300, "admin_session_lifetime": 20, "admin_token": "***", "allowed_connect_src": "", "allowed_iframe_ancestors": "", "attachments_folder": "data/attachments", "auth_request_purge_schedule": "30 * * * * *", "authenticator_disable_time_drift": false, "data_folder": "data", "database_conn_init": "", "database_max_conns": 10, "database_timeout": 30, "database_url": "***************", "db_connection_retries": 15, "disable_2fa_remember": false, "disable_admin_token": false, "disable_icon_download": false, "domain": "****://*********", "domain_origin": "****://*********", "domain_path": "", "domain_set": false, "duo_context_purge_schedule": "30 * * * * *", "duo_host": null, "duo_ikey": null, "duo_skey": null, "duo_use_iframe": false, "email_2fa_auto_fallback": false, "email_2fa_enforce_on_verified_invite": false, "email_attempts_limit": 3, "email_change_allowed": true, "email_expiration_time": 600, "email_token_size": 6, "emergency_access_allowed": true, "emergency_notification_reminder_schedule": "0 3 * * * *", "emergency_request_timeout_schedule": "0 7 * * * *", "enable_db_wal": true, "enable_websocket": true, "enforce_single_org_with_reset_pw_policy": false, "event_cleanup_schedule": "0 10 0 * * *", "events_days_retain": null, "experimental_client_feature_flags": "", "extended_logging": true, "helo_name": null, "hibp_api_key": null, "http_request_block_non_global_ips": true, "http_request_block_regex": null, "icon_blacklist_non_global_ips": true, "icon_blacklist_regex": null, "icon_cache_folder": "data/icon_cache", "icon_cache_negttl": 259200, "icon_cache_ttl": 2592000, "icon_download_timeout": 10, "icon_redirect_code": 302, "icon_service": "internal", "incomplete_2fa_schedule": "30 * * * * *", "incomplete_2fa_time_limit": 3, "increase_note_size_limit": false, "invitation_expiration_hours": 120, "invitation_org_name": "Vaultwarden", "invitations_allowed": true, "ip_header": "X-Real-IP", "job_poll_interval_ms": 30000, "log_file": null, "log_level": "info", "log_timestamp_format": "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%3f", "login_ratelimit_max_burst": 10, "login_ratelimit_seconds": 60, "org_attachment_limit": null, "org_creation_users": "", "org_events_enabled": false, "org_groups_enabled": true, "password_hints_allowed": true, "password_iterations": 600000, "push_enabled": false, "push_identity_uri": "https://identity.bitwarden.com", "push_installation_id": "***", "push_installation_key": "***", "push_relay_uri": "https://push.bitwarden.com", "reload_templates": false, "require_device_email": false, "rsa_key_filename": "data/rsa_key", "send_purge_schedule": "0 5 * * * *", "sendmail_command": null, "sends_allowed": true, "sends_folder": "data/sends", "show_password_hint": false, "signups_allowed": true, "signups_domains_whitelist": "", "signups_verify": false, "signups_verify_resend_limit": 6, "signups_verify_resend_time": 3600, "smtp_accept_invalid_certs": false, "smtp_accept_invalid_hostnames": false, "smtp_auth_mechanism": null, "smtp_debug": false, "smtp_embed_images": true, "smtp_explicit_tls": null, "smtp_from": "", "smtp_from_name": "Vaultwarden", "smtp_host": null, "smtp_password": null, "smtp_port": 587, "smtp_security": "starttls", "smtp_ssl": null, "smtp_timeout": 15, "smtp_username": null, "templates_folder": "data/templates", "tmp_folder": "data/tmp", "trash_auto_delete_days": null, "trash_purge_schedule": "0 5 0 * * *", "use_sendmail": false, "use_syslog": false, "user_attachment_limit": null, "user_send_limit": null, "web_vault_enabled": true, "web_vault_folder": "web-vault/", "yubico_client_id": null, "yubico_secret_key": null, "yubico_server": null } ``` </details> ### Vaultwarden Build Version vaultwarden/server:1.34.1 ### Deployment method Official Container Image ### Custom deployment method _No response_ ### Reverse Proxy None ### Host/Server Operating System Linux ### Operating System Version Fedora 42 ### Clients Web Vault ### Client Version _No response_ ### Steps To Reproduce 1. Start a new container with userid option set to a non root id (this is similar to the `runAsNonRoot: true` setting in Kubernetes): ```bash podman run -it --name vault -p 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 -e ROCKET_PORT=8080 -e ORG_GROUPS_ENABLED=true -e ADMIN_TOKEN=test123 -e I_REALLY_WANT_VOLATILE_STORAGE=true --user 1000 -v test:/data vaultwarden/server:1.34.1 ``` ### Expected Result Process starts and is able to write into the `/data` directory. ### Actual Result Container fails to write into `/data`, because the permissions are readonly for the user that the vaultwarden process starts under (UID 1000 | GID 0) ### Logs ```text /--------------------------------------------------------------------\ | Starting Vaultwarden | | Version 1.34.1 | |--------------------------------------------------------------------| | This is an *unofficial* Bitwarden implementation, DO NOT use the | | official channels to report bugs/features, regardless of client. | | Send usage/configuration questions or feature requests to: | | https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/discussions or | | https://vaultwarden.discourse.group/ | | Report suspected bugs/issues in the software itself at: | | https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/issues/new | \--------------------------------------------------------------------/ [NOTICE] You are using a plain text `ADMIN_TOKEN` which is insecure. Please generate a secure Argon2 PHC string by using `vaultwarden hash` or `argon2`. See: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Enabling-admin-page#secure-the-admin_token [2025-06-10 08:08:14.190][vaultwarden][ERROR] Error creating private key 'data/rsa_key.pem' Io. [CAUSE] Os { code: 2, kind: NotFound, message: "No such file or directory", } ``` ### Screenshots or Videos _No response_ ### Additional Context Even if the default user for the container user is overwritten e.g. `--user 1000` or `runAsNonRoot: true` + `runAsUser: 1000` in Kubernetes, the groupid usually stays GID 0 (root): ```bash user@2add75c266e1:/$ id uid=1000(user) gid=0(root) groups=0(root) ``` With this in mind, a simple fix for this would be setting the permissions for the `/data` directory during the dockerbuild process to 775 instead of 755.