diff --git a/lib/config/configuration.go b/lib/config/configuration.go
index 7a6c3e367501..2d6231402eb3 100644
--- a/lib/config/configuration.go
+++ b/lib/config/configuration.go
@@ -435,9 +435,9 @@ func applyLogConfig(loggerConfig Log, logger *log.Logger) error {
 		}
 	default:
 		// assume it's a file path:
-		logFile, err := os.Create(loggerConfig.Output)
+		logFile, err := os.OpenFile(loggerConfig.Output, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND|os.O_CREATE, 0666)
 		if err != nil {
-			return trace.Wrap(err, "failed to create the log file")
+			return trace.Wrap(err, "failed to open the log file for writing")
 		}
 		logger.SetOutput(logFile)
 	}