{"record":{"id":"5ecee8d55fab6140","repo":"wasmerio/wasmer","slug":"can-t-check-permissions-of","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Can't check permissions of {}","messagePattern":"Can't check permissions of (.+?)","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"lib/cli/src/commands/binfmt.rs","lineNumber":52,"sourceCode":"    #[clap(long, default_value = \"/proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/\")]\n    binfmt_misc: PathBuf,\n\n    #[clap(subcommand)]\n    action: Action,\n}\n\n// Quick safety check:\n// This folder isn't world writable (or else its sticky bit is set), and neither are its parents.\n//\n// If somebody mounted /tmp wrong, this might result in a TOCTOU problem.\nfn seccheck(path: &Path) -> Result<()> {\n    if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {\n        seccheck(parent)?;\n    }\n    let m = std::fs::metadata(path)\n        .with_context(|| format!(\"Can't check permissions of {}\", path.to_string_lossy()))?;\n    use unix_mode::*;\n    anyhow::ensure!(\n        !is_allowed(Accessor::Other, Access::Write, m.mode()) || is_sticky(m.mode()),\n        \"{} is world writable and not sticky ({m:?})\",\n        path.to_string_lossy()\n    );\n    Ok(())\n}\n\nimpl Binfmt {\n    /// The filename used to register the wasmer CLI as a binfmt interpreter.\n    pub const FILENAME: &'static str = \"wasmer-binfmt-interpreter\";\n\n    /// execute [Binfmt]\n    pub fn execute(&self) -> Result<()> {\n        if !self.binfmt_misc.exists() {\n            bail!(\"{} does not exist\", self.binfmt_misc.to_string_lossy());\n        }\n        let temp_dir;\n        let specs = match self.action {","sourceCodeStart":34,"sourceCodeEnd":70,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/wasmerio/wasmer/blob/8c4b9ee9d33fb2068863fbb3d328683e7e6ff7f5/lib/cli/src/commands/binfmt.rs#L34-L70","documentation":"The `wasmer binfmt` command performs a security check (`seccheck`) that walks a path and reads filesystem metadata for each component before registering wasmer as a binfmt interpreter. This error wraps a failure of `std::fs::metadata` — the file or a parent directory could not be stat'ed (missing, permission denied, broken symlink, etc.).","triggerScenarios":"Calling `seccheck` (directly or via `Binfmt::execute`) on a path where `std::fs::metadata(path)` fails: the path does not exist, a parent directory lacks search (execute) permission, the path is a dangling symlink, or an I/O error occurs during traversal.","commonSituations":"Running `wasmer binfmt register` with a typo'd interpreter path; wasmer installed in a directory later removed; restrictive parent directory permissions (e.g. root-only dir); sandboxed/container environments lacking access to the path.","solutions":["Verify the path printed in the error exists: `ls -la <path>`; reinstall wasmer if the binary is missing.","Fix permissions on the missing parent directory (chmod/chown) so the current user can traverse it.","Run the command with appropriate privileges (sudo) if the binfmt registration requires it and the path is root-only.","If the path is a dangling symlink, recreate or update it to point at the real wasmer binary."],"exampleFix":"// before\nwasmer binfmt register /opt/wasmer/bin/wasmer  // path missing\n// after\nsudo ln -s $(which wasmer) /usr/local/bin/wasmer\nwasmer binfmt register /usr/local/bin/wasmer","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"fn path_is_statable(p: &Path) -> bool {\n    std::fs::metadata(p).is_ok()\n}\n// call before binfmt register:\nif !path_is_statable(Path::new(\"/path/to/wasmer\")) {\n    eprintln!(\"wasmer binary path missing or unreachable\");\n}","typeGuard":"fn resolves_to_file(p: &Path) -> bool {\n    std::fs::metadata(p).map(|m| m.is_file()).unwrap_or(false)\n}","tryCatchPattern":"match binfmt_execute(path) {\n    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains(\"Can't check permissions of\") => {\n        eprintln!(\"Fix path/permissions, then retry: {e}\");\n    }\n    other => other?,\n}","preventionTips":["Verify the interpreter path exists before registering it as binfmt.","Install wasmer in a stable, standard location (e.g. /usr/local/bin).","Don't relocate or delete the binary after registering it.","Run under sudo only when registration genuinely requires it."],"tags":["filesystem","permissions","cli","linux"],"backgroundTag":"fs-metadata-failed","analyzedSha":"8c4b9ee9d33fb2068863fbb3d328683e7e6ff7f5","analyzedAt":"2026-09-01T23:06:31.009Z","contentChangedAt":null,"schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-09T06:17:21.866Z"}