Netdata: apps.plugin errors out because of permission denied

while configuring netdata on my debian 11 mailserver I get constant permission denied errors for the plugins. I have no idea why netdata is even using those and how to get rid of them. Do I need to change permissions for netdata in the /etc/passwd file?

Jun 19 11:07:32 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:07:32: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process entries in /proc/96638/fd (command 'kworker/u256:0-flush-254:0') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:07:32 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:07:32: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process /proc/96639/io (command 'kworker/u256:4-flush-254:0') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:07:32 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:07:32: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process entries in /proc/96639/fd (command 'kworker/u256:4-flush-254:0') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:07:32 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:07:32: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process /proc/96640/io (command 'kworker/u256:5') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:07:32 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:07:32: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process entries in /proc/96640/fd (command 'kworker/u256:5') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:11 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:11: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process /proc/96660/io (command 'sudo') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:11 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:11: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process entries in /proc/96660/fd (command 'sudo') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:11 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:11: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process /proc/96661/io (command 'nano') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:11 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:11: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process entries in /proc/96661/fd (command 'nano') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:32 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:32: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process entries in /proc/96685/fd (command 'freshclam') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:32 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:32: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process /proc/96686/io (command 'kworker/4:1') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:32 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:32: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process entries in /proc/96686/fd (command 'kworker/4:1') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:56 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:56: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process /proc/96719/io (command 'freshclam') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Jun 19 11:08:56 mail netdata[1934]: 2023-06-19 11:08:56: apps.plugin ERROR : MAIN : Cannot process entries in /proc/96719/fd (command 'freshclam') (errno 13, Permission denied)

Netdata is designed to run as a normal user, without special permissions. But certain plugins, like apps.plugin, need elevated permissions to do their job. It seems that in your case, apps.plugin does not have the right permissions.

To fix its permissions issue, run:

pluginsd_dir="/usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d"
sudo chown root:netdata ${plugins_dir}/apps.plugin"
sudo chmod 4750 ${plugins_dir}/apps.plugin"
sudo setcap cap_dac_read_search,cap_sys_ptrace+ep "${plugins_dir}/apps.plugin"

If you have installed netdata in some other directory, change pluginsd_dir accordingly.

Keep in mind that having this error means you have probably installed netdata in a non-standard way. Be careful, especially when you install apps in your production systems. Use the official ways of installation to make sure you have the right software installed. Netdata has binary packages for debian 11, which should assign the right permissions to plugins during installation.

https://learn.netdata.cloud/docs/installing/#install-on-linux-with-one-line-installer