apache/hadoop · error · AccessControlException

Permission denied. user={} is not the owner of inode={}

Error message

Permission denied. user={} is not the owner of inode={}

What it means

Error "Permission denied. user={} is not the owner of inode={}" thrown in apache/hadoop.

Source

Thrown at hadoop-hdfs-project/hadoop-hdfs/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hdfs/server/namenode/FSPermissionChecker.java:564

      if (pathByNameArr.length == 1 && pathByNameArr[0] == null) {
        elements[0] = "";
      } else {
        for (int i = 0; i < elements.length; i++) {
          elements[i] = DFSUtil.bytes2String(pathByNameArr[i]);
        }
      }
      inodeAttrs = getAttributesProvider().getAttributes(elements, inodeAttrs);
    }
    return inodeAttrs;
  }

  /** Guarded by {@link FSNamesystem#readLock(RwLockMode)}. */
  private void checkOwner(INodeAttributes[] inodes, byte[][] components, int i)
      throws AccessControlException {
    if (getUser().equals(inodes[i].getUserName())) {
      return;
    }
    throw new AccessControlException(
        "Permission denied. user=" + getUser() +
        " is not the owner of inode=" + getPath(components, 0, i));
  }

  /** Guarded by {@link FSNamesystem#readLock(RwLockMode)}.
   * @throws AccessControlException
   * @throws ParentNotDirectoryException
   * @throws UnresolvedPathException
   */
  private void checkTraverse(INodeAttributes[] inodeAttrs, INode[] inodes,
      byte[][] components, int last) throws AccessControlException,
          UnresolvedPathException, ParentNotDirectoryException {
    for (int i=0; i <= last; i++) {
      checkIsDirectory(inodes[i], components, i);
      check(inodeAttrs, components, i, FsAction.EXECUTE);
    }
  }

View on GitHub (pinned to 2add963021)

Solutions

1. Perform the operation as the inode owner or as the HDFS superuser; only the owner may change permissions/ownership.

When it happens

Trigger: A non-owner user attempts chmod, chown, or setPermission on an inode.

Common situations: A regular user trying to chmod or chown files owned by another user without superuser rights.

AI-assisted analysis of apache/hadoop@2add963021 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/738c818e8b278175. Report an issue: GitHub.