diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 16179ab..1f8c1e3 100755
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
-import { config, getProviders, refreshConfig } from './lib/utils.js';
+import { checkIfConfigIsAccessible, config, getProviders, refreshConfig } from './lib/utils.js';
 import * as similarityCache from './lib/services/similarity-check/similarityCache.js';
 import * as jobStorage from './lib/services/storage/jobStorage.js';
 import FredyRuntime from './lib/FredyRuntime.js';
@@ -16,6 +16,13 @@ import { initActiveCheckerCron } from './lib/services/crons/listing-alive-cron.j
 // Load configuration before any other startup steps
 await refreshConfig();
 
+const isConfigAccessible = await checkIfConfigIsAccessible();
+
+if (!isConfigAccessible) {
+  logger.error('Configuration exists, but is not accessible. Please check the file permission');
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
 // Ensure sqlite directory exists before loading anything else (based on config.sqlitepath)
 const rawDir = config.sqlitepath || '/db';
 const relDir = rawDir.startsWith('/') ? rawDir.slice(1) : rawDir;
diff --git a/lib/utils.js b/lib/utils.js
index e440796..b2d8689 100755
--- a/lib/utils.js
+++ b/lib/utils.js
@@ -180,6 +180,23 @@ function buildHash(...inputs) {
  */
 let config = {};
 
+/**
+ * If the config exists, but cannot be accessed, we quit Fredy as something is fishy here.
+ * @returns {Promise<boolean>}
+ */
+export async function checkIfConfigIsAccessible() {
+  const path = new URL('../conf/config.json', import.meta.url);
+  try {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(path)) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    fs.accessSync(path, fs.constants.R_OK);
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Read config JSON from disk (conf/config.json) and parse it.
  * @returns {Promise<any>} Parsed configuration object.