Why am I getting "Permission denied: make_sock: could not bind to address" when starting Apache2?

I can stop it using

/etc/init.d/apache2 stop

But when I want to start it again using:

/etc/init.d/apache2 start

I get this error:

Starting web server apache2                                                  /usr/sbin/apache2ctl: 87: ulimit: error setting limit (Operation not permitted)
apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1 for ServerName
(13)Permission denied: make_sock: could not bind to address [::]:80
(13)Permission denied: make_sock: could not bind to address 0.0.0.0:80
no listening sockets available, shutting down
Unable to open logs
Action 'start' failed.
The Apache error log may have more information.
                                                                         [fail]

Some words about the errors you get which hopefully will save you from similar situations in future.

In Linux ports from 0 to 1024 are reserved for system use. This means that in order to use one, you must have the authority to change - access basic system settings. The root user has such privileges and can actually use a port from the range 0 - 1024.

In your problem as you can see, the system through Apache2 response indicates the root of the problem ([...]could not bind to address blah blah 80):

(13)Permission denied: make_sock: could not bind to address [::]:80
(13)Permission denied: make_sock: could not bind to address 0.0.0.0:80

When the Apache2 http daemon starts, it tries to bind the 80 port as it is the default port for use in HTTP see, which is a port within the system assigned ports and as such it can only be accessed by root.

You executed the start command as a typical user without root privileges and led to failure to do so.

In simple words:

You:

Hi Apache2. I am Kongthap and I am telling you to start (/etc/init.d/apache2 start)

Apache2:

OK. I am starting (Starting web server apache2)

System, please give me port 80 to use and listen for connections.

System:

OK. One moment to check...

Ahh... Sorry Apache2 but I cannot let you run at 80 port, it is for personal use.

And you do not have the correct privileges to bind it. (Operation not permitted)

Apache2:

Ohh, Kongthap I failed to start, the System did not let me do it ((13)Permission denied:[...])

Conclusion

There are mainly two solutions to this problem:

1. Run the Apache2 HTTP daemon with root privileges using sudo:

   sudo service apache2 start
   

   or:

   sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 start
   

2. Change the default port from 80 to something greater than 1024, say 2000, 2500, 9000, etc. A typical port to run when in such situation is 8080

   sudo vi /etc/apache2/ports.conf
   

   look for or if not there add:

   Listen 8080
   

   or any other port of your choice such as port > 1024 and the selected port is not used by another process.

Following are the commands to start/stop/restart apache server:

• To start:

  sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 start
  

• To stop:

  sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 stop
  

• To restart:

  sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
  

Check the selinux port context by issuing command

semanage port -l | grep http

If it's present in the http_port_t list then it's OK, otherwise add your port by

semanage port -a -t http_port_t -p tcp 80

or something that you want to assign.