Permission denied when running locate command

This document (000021204) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprize Server 15

Situation

When installing the mlocate package, the locate command prints a "permission denied" message after 1 day:

sles15sp5:~ # locate someWord
locate: can not open `/var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db': Permission denied

Directly after installing the package it worked fine

Resolution

SUSE engineering is aware of the problem and this document will be updated once a fix is available.

As workaround following command can be executed after the mlocate service has been run:

chmod o+r /var/lib/mlocate/mlocate.db

Cause

The mlocate package provides a timer which triggers the mlocate.service to run. When running the updatedb command the default umask is used to create new database file.

Within file /etc/login.defs the default umask was changed from 022 to 077 and apparmor is enforced:

aa-enforce /usr/bin/locate

Status

Reported to Engineering

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.