Linux : vsftpd refusing to run with writable root inside chroot

By | January 6, 2015

After updating vsFTPd (version 3.0.2 +), you may have noticed the following error while trying to log using a chrooted account :

500 OOPS: vsftpd: refusing to run with writable root inside chroot ()

This error would only happen if you have the following parameter enabled (chroot users into their home directory) :

chroot_local_user=YES

The latest updates no longer allow writable directory by all user under a chroot directory user account. You either have to fix the permissions accordingly or add the following statement below to your vsftpd configuration file.

For standard vsFTPd :

allow_writeable_chroot=YES

For extended vsFTPd-ext :

allow_writable_chroot=YES

Then reload the daemon :

service vsftpd restart