Getting Data In

Run universal forwarder in Docker as unprivileged account

adamstortz
Engager

I am trying to run the universal forwarder in OpenShift which by default doesn't allow containers to run with a privileged account.

I have read other threads related to this, but none of them provide a solution.

When I run the splunk universal forwarder image like so:
docker run --rm -it -u 1001 -e SPLUNK_START_ARGS=--accept-license -e SPLUNK_PASSWORD=pwd -e SPLUNK_HOST=splunkhost:9997 -e SPLUNK_INDEX_NAME=sample splunk/universalforwarder:7.3-redhat

I get this output:

sh: /opt/container_artifact/splunk-container.state: Permission denied
ERROR: Couldn't read "/opt/splunkforwarder/etc/splunk-launch.conf" -- maybe $SPLUNK_HOME or $SPLUNK_ETC is set wrong?

Tags (2)

codebuilder
Influencer

You'll need to update your Makefile and rebuild your Docker image.

I've just recently answered a similar question that should help you:

https://answers.splunk.com/answers/789462/docker-image-search-cluster-configuration-fails-in.html?ch...

----
An upvote would be appreciated and Accept Solution if it helps!
0 Karma
Get Updates on the Splunk Community!

Accelerating Observability as Code with the Splunk AI Assistant

We’ve seen in previous posts what Observability as Code (OaC) is and how it’s now essential for managing ...

Integrating Splunk Search API and Quarto to Create Reproducible Investigation ...

 Splunk is More Than Just the Web Console For Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) practitioners, ...

Congratulations to the 2025-2026 SplunkTrust!

Hello, Splunk Community! We are beyond thrilled to announce our newest group of SplunkTrust members!  The ...