diff --git a/package/network/services/dnsmasq/files/dnsmasq.init b/package/network/services/dnsmasq/files/dnsmasq.init
index 2b81a61bcc..4cd5f673d8 100644
--- a/package/network/services/dnsmasq/files/dnsmasq.init
+++ b/package/network/services/dnsmasq/files/dnsmasq.init
@@ -643,6 +643,7 @@ start_service() {
 	mkdir -p $(dirname $CONFIGFILE)
 	mkdir -p /var/lib/misc
 	touch /tmp/dhcp.leases
+	chown dnsmasq:dnsmasq /var/run/dnsmasq
 
 	[ -f "$TIMESTAMPFILE" ] && rm -f "$TIMESTAMPFILE"