{"record":{"id":"5cdc60998fcf4424","repo":"cloudflare/cloudflared","slug":"unable-to-read-the-file-s-for-s","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"unable to read the file %s for --%s","messagePattern":"unable to read the file (.+?) for --(.+?)","errorType":"error_code","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"tlsconfig/origin_ca.go","lineNumber":27,"sourceCode":"\t\"runtime\"\n\n\t\"github.com/pkg/errors\"\n\t\"github.com/rs/zerolog\"\n)\n\nconst (\n\tOriginCAPoolFlag = \"origin-ca-pool\"\n)\n\nfunc LoadOriginCA(originCAPoolFilename string, log *zerolog.Logger) (*x509.CertPool, error) {\n\tvar originCustomCAPool []byte\n\n\tif originCAPoolFilename != \"\" {\n\t\tvar err error\n\t\t// nolint:gosec\n\t\toriginCustomCAPool, err = os.ReadFile(originCAPoolFilename)\n\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn nil, errors.Wrap(err, fmt.Sprintf(\"unable to read the file %s for --%s\", originCAPoolFilename, OriginCAPoolFlag))\n\t\t}\n\t}\n\n\toriginCertPool, err := loadOriginCertPool(originCustomCAPool, log)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, errors.Wrap(err, \"error loading the certificate pool\")\n\t}\n\n\t// Windows users should be notified that they can use the flag\n\tif runtime.GOOS == \"windows\" && originCAPoolFilename == \"\" {\n\t\tlog.Info().Msgf(\"cloudflared does not support loading the system root certificate pool on Windows. Please use --%s <PATH> to specify the path to the certificate pool\", OriginCAPoolFlag)\n\t}\n\n\treturn originCertPool, nil\n}\n\nfunc LoadCustomOriginCA(originCAFilename string) (*x509.CertPool, error) {\n\t// First, obtain the system certificate pool","sourceCodeStart":9,"sourceCodeEnd":45,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/blob/2253eeeb25a44a713a4b60b8ba1e1b3f377d1a0f/tlsconfig/origin_ca.go#L9-L45","documentation":"Wrapped os.ReadFile failure in tlsconfig.LoadOriginCA: the file given via --origin-ca-pool could not be read (missing path, permission denied, or is a directory), so the custom origin CA pool cannot be built and origin TLS configuration fails early.","triggerScenarios":"newHTTPTransport calls LoadOriginCA with a non-empty originCAPoolFilename that os.ReadFile cannot read: nonexistent path, no read permission, or path is a directory.","commonSituations":"Typo in --origin-ca-pool path; running cloudflared in a container without the file mounted; wrong user/permissions; relative path resolving differently due to working directory.","solutions":["Verify the path exists and is readable: ls -l <path> and test with `cat`","Use an absolute path for --origin-ca-pool","Mount/copy the CA file into containers and ensure the runtime user can read it","Fix permissions (chmod/chown) if access is denied"],"exampleFix":"// before\noriginCAPool = \"/etc/cloudflared/origin-ca.pem\" // file not mounted in container\n// after\nif _, err := os.Stat(originCAPool); err != nil {\n    log.Fatal().Err(err).Msg(\"--origin-ca-pool file missing\")\n}\n// ensure volume mount: -v /etc/cloudflared/origin-ca.pem:/etc/cloudflared/origin-ca.pem:ro","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"// before starting cloudflared with --origin-ca-pool\nif info, err := os.Stat(path); err != nil {\n    return fmt.Errorf(\"origin CA pool missing: %w\", err)\n} else if info.IsDir() {\n    return fmt.Errorf(\"origin CA pool is a directory: %s\", path)\n}\nf, err := os.Open(path)\nif err != nil {\n    return fmt.Errorf(\"origin CA pool unreadable: %w\", err)\n}\nf.Close()","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"pool, err := tlsconfig.LoadOriginCA(path, log)\nif err != nil {\n    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"unable to read the file\") {\n        return fmt.Errorf(\"check --origin-ca-pool path %q: %w\", path, err)\n    }\n    return err\n}","preventionTips":["Use absolute paths for CA files","Mount CA files read-only into containers","Verify readability as the same user that runs cloudflared"],"tags":["file","tls","configuration"],"backgroundTag":"file-read-failed","analyzedSha":"2253eeeb25a44a713a4b60b8ba1e1b3f377d1a0f","analyzedAt":"2026-09-06T04:14:33.757Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-06T04:14:33.757Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-14T05:17:10.506Z"}