diff --git a/src/lxc/console.c b/src/lxc/console.c
index 39515e7f8..ac7999e4a 100644
--- a/src/lxc/console.c
+++ b/src/lxc/console.c
@@ -518,9 +518,9 @@ static int lxc_console_peer_default(struct lxc_console *console)
 		goto out;
 	}
 
-	console->peer = lxc_unpriv(open(path, O_CLOEXEC | O_RDWR | O_CREAT | O_APPEND, 0600));
+	console->peer = lxc_unpriv(open(path, O_RDWR | O_CLOEXEC));
 	if (console->peer < 0) {
-		ERROR("failed to open \"%s\": %s", path, strerror(errno));
+		ERROR("Failed to open \"%s\": %s", path, strerror(errno));
 		return -ENOTTY;
 	}
 	DEBUG("using \"%s\" as peer tty device", path);