diff --git a/daemon/graphdriver/overlay2/overlay.go b/daemon/graphdriver/overlay2/overlay.go
index a4052b7a7b..4178e5f038 100644
--- a/daemon/graphdriver/overlay2/overlay.go
+++ b/daemon/graphdriver/overlay2/overlay.go
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ func (d *Driver) create(id, parent string, opts *graphdriver.CreateOpts) (retErr
 		return err
 	}
 	if lower != "" {
-		if err := ioutils.AtomicWriteFile(path.Join(dir, lowerFile), []byte(lower), 0o666); err != nil {
+		if err := ioutils.AtomicWriteFile(path.Join(dir, lowerFile), []byte(lower), 0o644); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}