Can't Change Permissions on freshclam.log File โ€“ Help Needed!

October 23, 2025 3 answers
Asked by CuriousCoder32
I'm having a bit of an issue with changing the permissions on a log file located in /var/log/clamav. I've been able to adjust the permissions for other files, but the freshclam.log file seems to resist any changes I try to make. For instance, when I run 'sudo chmod a+x -v /var/log/freshclam.log', the output says 'mode of /var/log/freshclam.log retained as 0711 (rwx--x--x)', but when I check with 'ls -l', it still shows as '-rw-r-----'. I feel like I'm missing something obvious, but I can't seem to figure it out!

Answers

TechWhiz101
Honestly, it doesn't make sense to make a log file executable for everyone. Typically, log files are there for reading and writing, not executing. You might be running into permission issues due to the way log files are handled; perhaps focusing on the right permissions for reading or writing would help instead.
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UnixGuru88
It's possible that your /var or /var/log directory is mounted with the noexec option, which prevents any execution permissions from being granted. That said, if you're still having trouble, check your file system options or see if some process is resetting permissions when you try to change them.
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SysAdminNerd
From what I see, you might need to look into whether another process is monitoring that file and reverting its permissions. If you're also getting a 'Permission denied' error when trying to initialize freshclam, it could be that permissions aren't the only issue. Make sure correct ownership is set up for the freshclam.log file, too.
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