diff --git a/src/config/toml_reader.c b/src/config/toml_reader.c
index 6f3f98e3..de40703d 100644
--- a/src/config/toml_reader.c
+++ b/src/config/toml_reader.c
@@ -141,6 +141,12 @@ bool readFTLtoml(struct config *oldconf, struct config *newconf,
 		struct conf_item *old_conf_item = oldconf != NULL ? get_conf_item(oldconf, i) : NULL;
 		struct conf_item *new_conf_item = get_conf_item(newconf, i);
 
+		// Do not read config.files.log.ftl from the TOML file if it has been
+		// set to NULL due to permissions issues during startup
+		if(config.files.log.ftl.v.s == NULL &&
+		   new_conf_item == &newconf->files.log.ftl)
+			continue;
+
 		// First try to read this config option from an environment variable
 		// Skip reading environment variables when importing from Teleporter
 		// If this succeeds, skip searching the TOML file for this config item