Docker: Cannot execute binary file

Question

I can't run any binary in my docker container.

Dockerfile:

FROM ubuntu:eoan AS compiler-build

RUN apt-get update && \
    dpkg --add-architecture i386 && \
    apt-get install -y gcc \
                       gcc-multilib \
                       make \
                       cmake \
                       git \
                       python3.8 \
                       bash

WORKDIR /home
ADD . /home/pawn
RUN mkdir build
WORKDIR /home/build
ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash"]
CMD ["/bin/bash"]

I can't even use file builtin:

[root@LAPTOP-EJ5BH6DJ compiler]:~/dev/private/SAMP/compiler (v13.11.0) (master) dc run compiler file bash
/usr/bin/file: /usr/bin/file: cannot execute binary file

Charles · Accepted Answer · 2023-12-20 20:56:39Z

78

From this forum thread:

This error occurs when you use a shell in your entrypoint without the "-c" argument

So, if you change your Dockerfile to end with

ENTRYPOINT [ "/bin/bash", "-l", "-c" ]

then you can run binary files.

Note the purpose of the options for /bin/bash, from the manpage:

-l: Make bash act as if it had been invoked as a login shell
-c: If the -c option is present, then commands are read from the first non-option argument command_string. If there are arguments after the command_string, the first argument is assigned to $0 and any remaining arguments are assigned to the positional parameters. The assignment to $0 sets the name of the shell, which is used in warning and error messages.

Additionally, this article is a worthwhile read on how to use both ENTRYPOINT and CMD together, and what their differences are.

EDIT: Here's another article that goes into a trivial (but clearer than the first article) example using the echo shell builtin.

EDIT: Here's an adaptation of the trivial example from the second article I linked:

FROM ubuntu
ENTRYPOINT [ "/bin/bash", "-l", "-c" ]
CMD [ "ls" ]

$ docker build -t test .

$ docker run --rm test
bin
boot
...
var

$ docker run --rm test "ls etc"
adduser.conf
alternatives
apt
...
update-motd.d
xattr.conf

Note the " around ls /etc. Without the quotes, the argument /etc doesn't seem to be passed to the ls command as I might expect.

edited Dec 20, 2023 at 20:56

answered Jun 10, 2020 at 21:08

Charles

1,1252 gold badges12 silver badges16 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

4 Comments

altabq Over a year ago

Could you give me a pointer how this is done in practice?

Charles Over a year ago

@altabq Sorry for taking a while to get back to you. Here's another article that goes over a trivial example using the echo shell builtin that I think is a bit clearer than the original article I linked.

scaryman Over a year ago

web.archive.org/web/20170714072459/https://www.ctl.io/… wayback machine for the dead link

Charles Over a year ago

@scaryman Thanks for pointing that out; just updated the answer with your link

Misiur · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-06 16:59:16Z

7

Entrypoint can't point to /bin/bash it seems. Removing ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash"] is enough to make it work.

answered Apr 6, 2020 at 16:59

Misiur

5,3938 gold badges42 silver badges57 bronze badges

Comments

Sairam Krish · Accepted Answer · 2022-08-18 19:31:40Z

5

There are times when we don't have control over the image's Dockerfile but it's original entrypoint has an issue.

We could overwrite it's entrypoint to debug issues:

# example
docker run --rm \
    --entrypoint /bin/bash \
    -it apache/spark-py:v3.3.0

answered Aug 18, 2022 at 19:31

Sairam Krish

12k3 gold badges64 silver badges77 bronze badges

Comments

rustyMagnet · Accepted Answer · 2021-12-16 13:12:56Z

3

I hit the same error. Unlike the other answers, my error was related to my docker run parameters:

# failed
docker run -it $(pwd | xargs basename):latest bash

# worked
docker run -it $(pwd | xargs basename):latest

I didn't need to add bash as I already had this in my Dockerfile:

ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash"]

answered Dec 16, 2021 at 13:12

rustyMagnet

4,2853 gold badges42 silver badges50 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Docker: Cannot execute binary file

4 Answers 4

4 Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

4 Answers 4

4 Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Linked

Related