How to fix EE_CONFIG_FILE_PERMISSION_ERROR (53): Config file permission issue in MySQL

MySQLINTERMEDIATEHIGH

This MySQL error occurs when a configuration file has overly permissive file permissions that allow other users to read or write to it. MySQL enforces strict security by requiring config files to be readable/writable only by the current user.

What this error means

Error 53 (EE_CONFIG_FILE_PERMISSION_ERROR) was introduced in MySQL 8.0.13 as a security measure to prevent unauthorized access to configuration files. The error message states "%s should be readable/writable only by current user." When MySQL detects that a configuration file (typically my.cnf on Linux/Unix or my.ini on Windows) has permissions that allow other users to read or modify it, it will refuse to read the file and throw this error. This is intentional security behavior to prevent sensitive information like passwords from being exposed to unauthorized users. On Unix systems, MySQL specifically ignores configuration files that are world-writable (permissions like 777 or 666). The server requires that configuration files containing sensitive options be protected with restrictive permissions that limit access to the MySQL user account only.

How to fix "EE_CONFIG_FILE_PERMISSION_ERROR (53): Config file permission issue"

1Locate your MySQL configuration file

First, identify which configuration file MySQL is trying to read. Common locations include:

Linux/Unix:

bash

# Common locations
ls -la /etc/mysql/my.cnf
ls -la /etc/my.cnf
ls -la ~/.my.cnf
ls -la /usr/local/mysql/my.cnf

# Check which files MySQL is reading
mysqld --help --verbose | grep -A 1 "Default options"

Windows:

powershell

# Common locations
C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\my.ini
C:\Windows\my.ini
C:\mysql\my.ini

2Check current file permissions

Verify the current permissions on the configuration file:

Linux/Unix:

bash

ls -l /etc/mysql/my.cnf

Look for permissions like:
- -rw-rw-rw- (666) - Too permissive, world-writable
- -rwxrwxrwx (777) - Too permissive, world-writable
- -rw-r--r-- (644) - Too permissive for files with passwords
- -rw------- (600) - Correct for files with sensitive data

Windows:

powershell

icacls "C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\my.ini"

3Set correct file permissions

Fix the file permissions to be restrictive:

Linux/Unix (for files with passwords/sensitive data):

bash

# Set permissions to 600 (read/write for owner only)
sudo chmod 600 /etc/mysql/my.cnf

# Ensure MySQL user owns the file
sudo chown mysql:mysql /etc/mysql/my.cnf

Linux/Unix (for general config files):

bash

# Set permissions to 644 (read/write for owner, read for others)
sudo chmod 644 /etc/mysql/my.cnf
sudo chown mysql:mysql /etc/mysql/my.cnf

Docker environments:

bash

# In your Dockerfile or docker-compose.yml
RUN chmod 0444 /etc/mysql/conf.d/*.cnf

Windows:

powershell

# Grant MySQL service user read permissions
icacls "C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.0\my.ini" /grant "NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE:R"

4Restart MySQL server

After fixing permissions, restart MySQL to apply changes:

Linux (systemd):

bash

sudo systemctl restart mysql
# or
sudo systemctl restart mysqld

Linux (SysV init):

bash

sudo service mysql restart

macOS:

bash

brew services restart mysql

Windows:

powershell

net stop MySQL80
net start MySQL80

Docker:

bash

docker-compose restart mysql

5Verify the fix

Confirm MySQL is running and reading the config file:

bash

# Check MySQL status
sudo systemctl status mysql

# Connect to verify settings are loaded
mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW VARIABLES LIKE '%config_file%';"

# Check error log for permission warnings
sudo tail -f /var/log/mysql/error.log

If you see no permission errors in the logs and MySQL starts successfully, the issue is resolved.

How to fix EE_CONFIG_FILE_PERMISSION_ERROR (53): Config file permission issue in MySQL

What this error means

Typical symptoms

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How to fix "EE_CONFIG_FILE_PERMISSION_ERROR (53): Config file permission issue"

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