diff --git a/checkpoint.go b/checkpoint.go
index 67c767a4..fb086186 100644
--- a/checkpoint.go
+++ b/checkpoint.go
@@ -4,11 +4,14 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer"
+	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/system"
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runtime-spec/specs-go"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 
 	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
@@ -44,12 +47,8 @@ checkpointed.`,
 			return err
 		}
 		// XXX: Currently this is untested with rootless containers.
-		rootless, err := isRootless(context)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if rootless {
-			return fmt.Errorf("runc checkpoint requires root")
+		if os.Geteuid() != 0 || system.RunningInUserNS() {
+			logrus.Warn("runc checkpoint is untested with rootless containers")
 		}
 
 		container, err := getContainer(context)
diff --git a/libcontainer/cgroups/fs/apply_raw.go b/libcontainer/cgroups/fs/apply_raw.go
index 09b96de5..74bfcf94 100644
--- a/libcontainer/cgroups/fs/apply_raw.go
+++ b/libcontainer/cgroups/fs/apply_raw.go
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ type subsystem interface {
 type Manager struct {
 	mu       sync.Mutex
 	Cgroups  *configs.Cgroup
-	Rootless bool
+	Rootless bool // ignore permission-related errors
 	Paths    map[string]string
 }
 
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ func (m *Manager) Apply(pid int) (err error) {
 		m.Paths[sys.Name()] = p
 
 		if err := sys.Apply(d); err != nil {
-			// In the case of rootless, where an explicit cgroup path hasn't
+			// In the case of rootless (including euid=0 in userns), where an explicit cgroup path hasn't
 			// been set, we don't bail on error in case of permission problems.
 			// Cases where limits have been set (and we couldn't create our own
 			// cgroup) are handled by Set.
@@ -236,6 +236,12 @@ func (m *Manager) Set(container *configs.Config) error {
 	for _, sys := range subsystems {
 		path := paths[sys.Name()]
 		if err := sys.Set(path, container.Cgroups); err != nil {
+			if m.Rootless && sys.Name() == "devices" {
+				continue
+			}
+			// When m.Rootless is true, errors from the device subsystem are ignored because it is really not expected to work.
+			// However, errors from other subsystems are not ignored.
+			// see @test "runc create (rootless + limits + no cgrouppath + no permission) fails with informative error"
 			if path == "" {
 				// We never created a path for this cgroup, so we cannot set
 				// limits for it (though we have already tried at this point).
diff --git a/libcontainer/configs/config.go b/libcontainer/configs/config.go
index b1c4762f..f6d1f134 100644
--- a/libcontainer/configs/config.go
+++ b/libcontainer/configs/config.go
@@ -186,12 +186,19 @@ type Config struct {
 	// callers keyring in this case.
 	NoNewKeyring bool `json:"no_new_keyring"`
 
-	// Rootless specifies whether the container is a rootless container.
-	Rootless bool `json:"rootless"`
-
 	// IntelRdt specifies settings for Intel RDT/CAT group that the container is placed into
 	// to limit the resources (e.g., L3 cache) the container has available
 	IntelRdt *IntelRdt `json:"intel_rdt,omitempty"`
+
+	// RootlessEUID is set when the runc was launched with non-zero EUID.
+	// Note that RootlessEUID is set to false when launched with EUID=0 in userns.
+	// When RootlessEUID is set, runc creates a new userns for the container.
+	// (config.json needs to contain userns settings)
+	RootlessEUID bool `json:"rootless_euid,omitempty"`
+
+	// RootlessCgroups is set when unlikely to have the full access to cgroups.
+	// When RootlessCgroups is set, cgroups errors are ignored.
+	RootlessCgroups bool `json:"rootless_cgroups,omitempty"`
 }
 
 type Hooks struct {
diff --git a/libcontainer/configs/validate/rootless.go b/libcontainer/configs/validate/rootless.go
index 8c3954ce..393d9e81 100644
--- a/libcontainer/configs/validate/rootless.go
+++ b/libcontainer/configs/validate/rootless.go
@@ -2,23 +2,18 @@ package validate
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"os"
-	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
-var (
-	geteuid = os.Geteuid
-	getegid = os.Getegid
-)
-
-func (v *ConfigValidator) rootless(config *configs.Config) error {
-	if err := rootlessMappings(config); err != nil {
+// rootlessEUID makes sure that the config can be applied when runc
+// is being executed as a non-root user (euid != 0) in the current user namespace.
+func (v *ConfigValidator) rootlessEUID(config *configs.Config) error {
+	if err := rootlessEUIDMappings(config); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if err := rootlessMount(config); err != nil {
+	if err := rootlessEUIDMount(config); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -38,46 +33,24 @@ func hasIDMapping(id int, mappings []configs.IDMap) bool {
 	return false
 }
 
-func rootlessMappings(config *configs.Config) error {
-	if euid := geteuid(); euid != 0 {
-		if !config.Namespaces.Contains(configs.NEWUSER) {
-			return fmt.Errorf("rootless containers require user namespaces")
-		}
-		if len(config.UidMappings) == 0 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("rootless containers requires at least one UID mapping")
-		}
-		if len(config.GidMappings) == 0 {
-			return fmt.Errorf("rootless containers requires at least one GID mapping")
-		}
+func rootlessEUIDMappings(config *configs.Config) error {
+	if !config.Namespaces.Contains(configs.NEWUSER) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("rootless container requires user namespaces")
 	}
 
-	return nil
-}
-
-// cgroup verifies that the user isn't trying to set any cgroup limits or paths.
-func rootlessCgroup(config *configs.Config) error {
-	// Nothing set at all.
-	if config.Cgroups == nil || config.Cgroups.Resources == nil {
-		return nil
+	if len(config.UidMappings) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("rootless containers requires at least one UID mapping")
 	}
-
-	// Used for comparing to the zero value.
-	left := reflect.ValueOf(*config.Cgroups.Resources)
-	right := reflect.Zero(left.Type())
-
-	// This is all we need to do, since specconv won't add cgroup options in
-	// rootless mode.
-	if !reflect.DeepEqual(left.Interface(), right.Interface()) {
-		return fmt.Errorf("cannot specify resource limits in rootless container")
+	if len(config.GidMappings) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("rootless containers requires at least one GID mapping")
 	}
-
 	return nil
 }
 
 // mount verifies that the user isn't trying to set up any mounts they don't have
 // the rights to do. In addition, it makes sure that no mount has a `uid=` or
 // `gid=` option that doesn't resolve to root.
-func rootlessMount(config *configs.Config) error {
+func rootlessEUIDMount(config *configs.Config) error {
 	// XXX: We could whitelist allowed devices at this point, but I'm not
 	//      convinced that's a good idea. The kernel is the best arbiter of
 	//      access control.
diff --git a/libcontainer/configs/validate/rootless_test.go b/libcontainer/configs/validate/rootless_test.go
index bfb3eef3..59d15575 100644
--- a/libcontainer/configs/validate/rootless_test.go
+++ b/libcontainer/configs/validate/rootless_test.go
@@ -6,15 +6,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/configs"
 )
 
-func init() {
-	geteuid = func() int { return 1337 }
-	getegid = func() int { return 7331 }
-}
-
-func rootlessConfig() *configs.Config {
+func rootlessEUIDConfig() *configs.Config {
 	return &configs.Config{
-		Rootfs:   "/var",
-		Rootless: true,
+		Rootfs:          "/var",
+		RootlessEUID:    true,
+		RootlessCgroups: true,
 		Namespaces: configs.Namespaces(
 			[]configs.Namespace{
 				{Type: configs.NEWUSER},
@@ -22,14 +18,14 @@ func rootlessConfig() *configs.Config {
 		),
 		UidMappings: []configs.IDMap{
 			{
-				HostID:      geteuid(),
+				HostID:      1337,
 				ContainerID: 0,
 				Size:        1,
 			},
 		},
 		GidMappings: []configs.IDMap{
 			{
-				HostID:      getegid(),
+				HostID:      7331,
 				ContainerID: 0,
 				Size:        1,
 			},
@@ -37,51 +33,51 @@ func rootlessConfig() *configs.Config {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestValidateRootless(t *testing.T) {
+func TestValidateRootlessEUID(t *testing.T) {
 	validator := New()
 
-	config := rootlessConfig()
+	config := rootlessEUIDConfig()
 	if err := validator.Validate(config); err != nil {
 		t.Errorf("Expected error to not occur: %+v", err)
 	}
 }
 
-/* rootlessMappings() */
+/* rootlessEUIDMappings */
 
-func TestValidateRootlessUserns(t *testing.T) {
+func TestValidateRootlessEUIDUserns(t *testing.T) {
 	validator := New()
 
-	config := rootlessConfig()
+	config := rootlessEUIDConfig()
 	config.Namespaces = nil
 	if err := validator.Validate(config); err == nil {
 		t.Errorf("Expected error to occur if user namespaces not set")
 	}
 }
 
-func TestValidateRootlessMappingUid(t *testing.T) {
+func TestValidateRootlessEUIDMappingUid(t *testing.T) {
 	validator := New()
 
-	config := rootlessConfig()
+	config := rootlessEUIDConfig()
 	config.UidMappings = nil
 	if err := validator.Validate(config); err == nil {
 		t.Errorf("Expected error to occur if no uid mappings provided")
 	}
 }
 
-func TestValidateRootlessMappingGid(t *testing.T) {
+func TestValidateNonZeroEUIDMappingGid(t *testing.T) {
 	validator := New()
 
-	config := rootlessConfig()
+	config := rootlessEUIDConfig()
 	config.GidMappings = nil
 	if err := validator.Validate(config); err == nil {
 		t.Errorf("Expected error to occur if no gid mappings provided")
 	}
 }
 
-/* rootlessMount() */
+/* rootlessEUIDMount() */
 
-func TestValidateRootlessMountUid(t *testing.T) {
-	config := rootlessConfig()
+func TestValidateRootlessEUIDMountUid(t *testing.T) {
+	config := rootlessEUIDConfig()
 	validator := New()
 
 	config.Mounts = []*configs.Mount{
@@ -119,8 +115,8 @@ func TestValidateRootlessMountUid(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestValidateRootlessMountGid(t *testing.T) {
-	config := rootlessConfig()
+func TestValidateRootlessEUIDMountGid(t *testing.T) {
+	config := rootlessEUIDConfig()
 	validator := New()
 
 	config.Mounts = []*configs.Mount{
diff --git a/libcontainer/configs/validate/validator.go b/libcontainer/configs/validate/validator.go
index b36e553d..fc7b01e4 100644
--- a/libcontainer/configs/validate/validator.go
+++ b/libcontainer/configs/validate/validator.go
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ func (v *ConfigValidator) Validate(config *configs.Config) error {
 	if err := v.intelrdt(config); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if config.Rootless {
-		if err := v.rootless(config); err != nil {
+	if config.RootlessEUID {
+		if err := v.rootlessEUID(config); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/libcontainer/container_linux.go b/libcontainer/container_linux.go
index 9f551fd0..3c1bbcc7 100644
--- a/libcontainer/container_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/container_linux.go
@@ -59,7 +59,8 @@ type State struct {
 
 	// Platform specific fields below here
 
-	// Specifies if the container was started under the rootless mode.
+	// Specified if the container was started under the rootless mode.
+	// Set to true if BaseState.Config.RootlessEUID && BaseState.Config.RootlessCgroups
 	Rootless bool `json:"rootless"`
 
 	// Path to all the cgroups setup for a container. Key is cgroup subsystem name
@@ -522,14 +523,15 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) newSetnsProcess(p *Process, cmd *exec.Cmd, parentPipe,
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	return &setnsProcess{
-		cmd:           cmd,
-		cgroupPaths:   c.cgroupManager.GetPaths(),
-		intelRdtPath:  state.IntelRdtPath,
-		childPipe:     childPipe,
-		parentPipe:    parentPipe,
-		config:        c.newInitConfig(p),
-		process:       p,
-		bootstrapData: data,
+		cmd:             cmd,
+		cgroupPaths:     c.cgroupManager.GetPaths(),
+		rootlessCgroups: c.config.RootlessCgroups,
+		intelRdtPath:    state.IntelRdtPath,
+		childPipe:       childPipe,
+		parentPipe:      parentPipe,
+		config:          c.newInitConfig(p),
+		process:         p,
+		bootstrapData:   data,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -545,7 +547,8 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) newInitConfig(process *Process) *initConfig {
 		PassedFilesCount: len(process.ExtraFiles),
 		ContainerId:      c.ID(),
 		NoNewPrivileges:  c.config.NoNewPrivileges,
-		Rootless:         c.config.Rootless,
+		RootlessEUID:     c.config.RootlessEUID,
+		RootlessCgroups:  c.config.RootlessCgroups,
 		AppArmorProfile:  c.config.AppArmorProfile,
 		ProcessLabel:     c.config.ProcessLabel,
 		Rlimits:          c.config.Rlimits,
@@ -613,16 +616,16 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Resume() error {
 
 func (c *linuxContainer) NotifyOOM() (<-chan struct{}, error) {
 	// XXX(cyphar): This requires cgroups.
-	if c.config.Rootless {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot get OOM notifications from rootless container")
+	if c.config.RootlessCgroups {
+		logrus.Warn("getting OOM notifications may fail if you don't have the full access to cgroups")
 	}
 	return notifyOnOOM(c.cgroupManager.GetPaths())
 }
 
 func (c *linuxContainer) NotifyMemoryPressure(level PressureLevel) (<-chan struct{}, error) {
 	// XXX(cyphar): This requires cgroups.
-	if c.config.Rootless {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cannot get memory pressure notifications from rootless container")
+	if c.config.RootlessCgroups {
+		logrus.Warn("getting memory pressure notifications may fail if you don't have the full access to cgroups")
 	}
 	return notifyMemoryPressure(c.cgroupManager.GetPaths(), level)
 }
@@ -866,12 +869,11 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Checkpoint(criuOpts *CriuOpts) error {
 	c.m.Lock()
 	defer c.m.Unlock()
 
+	// Checkpoint is unlikely to work if os.Geteuid() != 0 || system.RunningInUserNS().
+	// (CLI prints a warning)
 	// TODO(avagin): Figure out how to make this work nicely. CRIU 2.0 has
 	//               support for doing unprivileged dumps, but the setup of
 	//               rootless containers might make this complicated.
-	if c.config.Rootless {
-		return fmt.Errorf("cannot checkpoint a rootless container")
-	}
 
 	// criu 1.5.2 => 10502
 	if err := c.checkCriuVersion(10502); err != nil {
@@ -1105,11 +1107,10 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Restore(process *Process, criuOpts *CriuOpts) error {
 
 	var extraFiles []*os.File
 
+	// Restore is unlikely to work if os.Geteuid() != 0 || system.RunningInUserNS().
+	// (CLI prints a warning)
 	// TODO(avagin): Figure out how to make this work nicely. CRIU doesn't have
 	//               support for unprivileged restore at the moment.
-	if c.config.Rootless {
-		return fmt.Errorf("cannot restore a rootless container")
-	}
 
 	// criu 1.5.2 => 10502
 	if err := c.checkCriuVersion(10502); err != nil {
@@ -1717,7 +1718,7 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) currentState() (*State, error) {
 			InitProcessStartTime: startTime,
 			Created:              c.created,
 		},
-		Rootless:            c.config.Rootless,
+		Rootless:            c.config.RootlessEUID && c.config.RootlessCgroups,
 		CgroupPaths:         c.cgroupManager.GetPaths(),
 		IntelRdtPath:        intelRdtPath,
 		NamespacePaths:      make(map[configs.NamespaceType]string),
@@ -1818,7 +1819,7 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) bootstrapData(cloneFlags uintptr, nsMaps map[configs.Na
 	if !joinExistingUser {
 		// write uid mappings
 		if len(c.config.UidMappings) > 0 {
-			if c.config.Rootless && c.newuidmapPath != "" {
+			if c.config.RootlessEUID && c.newuidmapPath != "" {
 				r.AddData(&Bytemsg{
 					Type:  UidmapPathAttr,
 					Value: []byte(c.newuidmapPath),
@@ -1844,7 +1845,7 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) bootstrapData(cloneFlags uintptr, nsMaps map[configs.Na
 				Type:  GidmapAttr,
 				Value: b,
 			})
-			if c.config.Rootless && c.newgidmapPath != "" {
+			if c.config.RootlessEUID && c.newgidmapPath != "" {
 				r.AddData(&Bytemsg{
 					Type:  GidmapPathAttr,
 					Value: []byte(c.newgidmapPath),
@@ -1869,8 +1870,8 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) bootstrapData(cloneFlags uintptr, nsMaps map[configs.Na
 
 	// write rootless
 	r.AddData(&Boolmsg{
-		Type:  RootlessAttr,
-		Value: c.config.Rootless,
+		Type:  RootlessEUIDAttr,
+		Value: c.config.RootlessEUID,
 	})
 
 	return bytes.NewReader(r.Serialize()), nil
diff --git a/libcontainer/factory_linux.go b/libcontainer/factory_linux.go
index 612ccd74..4f65b918 100644
--- a/libcontainer/factory_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/factory_linux.go
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func Cgroupfs(l *LinuxFactory) error {
 // containers that use the native cgroups filesystem implementation to create
 // and manage cgroups. The difference between RootlessCgroupfs and Cgroupfs is
 // that RootlessCgroupfs can transparently handle permission errors that occur
-// during rootless container setup (while still allowing cgroup usage if
+// during rootless container (including euid=0 in userns) setup (while still allowing cgroup usage if
 // they've been set up properly).
 func RootlessCgroupfs(l *LinuxFactory) error {
 	l.NewCgroupsManager = func(config *configs.Cgroup, paths map[string]string) cgroups.Manager {
diff --git a/libcontainer/init_linux.go b/libcontainer/init_linux.go
index b19f00ed..7743d4a4 100644
--- a/libcontainer/init_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/init_linux.go
@@ -65,7 +65,8 @@ type initConfig struct {
 	CreateConsole    bool                  `json:"create_console"`
 	ConsoleWidth     uint16                `json:"console_width"`
 	ConsoleHeight    uint16                `json:"console_height"`
-	Rootless         bool                  `json:"rootless"`
+	RootlessEUID     bool                  `json:"rootless_euid,omitempty"`
+	RootlessCgroups  bool                  `json:"rootless_cgroups,omitempty"`
 }
 
 type initer interface {
@@ -283,7 +284,7 @@ func setupUser(config *initConfig) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("cannot set gid to unmapped user in user namespace")
 	}
 
-	if config.Rootless {
+	if config.RootlessEUID {
 		// We cannot set any additional groups in a rootless container and thus
 		// we bail if the user asked us to do so. TODO: We currently can't do
 		// this check earlier, but if libcontainer.Process.User was typesafe
@@ -303,7 +304,7 @@ func setupUser(config *initConfig) error {
 	// There's nothing we can do about /etc/group entries, so we silently
 	// ignore setting groups here (since the user didn't explicitly ask us to
 	// set the group).
-	if !config.Rootless {
+	if !config.RootlessEUID {
 		suppGroups := append(execUser.Sgids, addGroups...)
 		if err := unix.Setgroups(suppGroups); err != nil {
 			return err
diff --git a/libcontainer/message_linux.go b/libcontainer/message_linux.go
index ed7f986d..1d4f5033 100644
--- a/libcontainer/message_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/message_linux.go
@@ -10,16 +10,16 @@ import (
 // list of known message types we want to send to bootstrap program
 // The number is randomly chosen to not conflict with known netlink types
 const (
-	InitMsg         uint16 = 62000
-	CloneFlagsAttr  uint16 = 27281
-	NsPathsAttr     uint16 = 27282
-	UidmapAttr      uint16 = 27283
-	GidmapAttr      uint16 = 27284
-	SetgroupAttr    uint16 = 27285
-	OomScoreAdjAttr uint16 = 27286
-	RootlessAttr    uint16 = 27287
-	UidmapPathAttr  uint16 = 27288
-	GidmapPathAttr  uint16 = 27289
+	InitMsg          uint16 = 62000
+	CloneFlagsAttr   uint16 = 27281
+	NsPathsAttr      uint16 = 27282
+	UidmapAttr       uint16 = 27283
+	GidmapAttr       uint16 = 27284
+	SetgroupAttr     uint16 = 27285
+	OomScoreAdjAttr  uint16 = 27286
+	RootlessEUIDAttr uint16 = 27287
+	UidmapPathAttr   uint16 = 27288
+	GidmapPathAttr   uint16 = 27289
 )
 
 type Int32msg struct {
diff --git a/libcontainer/nsenter/nsexec.c b/libcontainer/nsenter/nsexec.c
index cb224314..d7cb0af0 100644
--- a/libcontainer/nsenter/nsexec.c
+++ b/libcontainer/nsenter/nsexec.c
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ struct nlconfig_t {
 	uint8_t is_setgroup;
 
 	/* Rootless container settings. */
-	uint8_t is_rootless;
+	uint8_t is_rootless_euid;	/* boolean */
 	char *uidmappath;
 	size_t uidmappath_len;
 	char *gidmappath;
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ struct nlconfig_t {
 #define GIDMAP_ATTR			27284
 #define SETGROUP_ATTR		27285
 #define OOM_SCORE_ADJ_ATTR	27286
-#define ROOTLESS_ATTR	    27287
+#define ROOTLESS_EUID_ATTR	27287
 #define UIDMAPPATH_ATTR	    27288
 #define GIDMAPPATH_ATTR	    27289
 
@@ -419,8 +419,8 @@ static void nl_parse(int fd, struct nlconfig_t *config)
 		case CLONE_FLAGS_ATTR:
 			config->cloneflags = readint32(current);
 			break;
-		case ROOTLESS_ATTR:
-			config->is_rootless = readint8(current);
+		case ROOTLESS_EUID_ATTR:
+			config->is_rootless_euid = readint8(current);	/* boolean */
 			break;
 		case OOM_SCORE_ADJ_ATTR:
 			config->oom_score_adj = current;
@@ -687,7 +687,7 @@ void nsexec(void)
 					 * newuidmap/newgidmap shall be used.
 					 */
 
-					if (config.is_rootless && !config.is_setgroup)
+					if (config.is_rootless_euid && !config.is_setgroup)
 						update_setgroups(child, SETGROUPS_DENY);
 
 					/* Set up mappings. */
@@ -953,7 +953,7 @@ void nsexec(void)
 			if (setgid(0) < 0)
 				bail("setgid failed");
 
-			if (!config.is_rootless && config.is_setgroup) {
+			if (!config.is_rootless_euid && config.is_setgroup) {
 				if (setgroups(0, NULL) < 0)
 					bail("setgroups failed");
 			}
diff --git a/libcontainer/process_linux.go b/libcontainer/process_linux.go
index cc94c69f..217c213f 100644
--- a/libcontainer/process_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/process_linux.go
@@ -46,15 +46,16 @@ type parentProcess interface {
 }
 
 type setnsProcess struct {
-	cmd           *exec.Cmd
-	parentPipe    *os.File
-	childPipe     *os.File
-	cgroupPaths   map[string]string
-	intelRdtPath  string
-	config        *initConfig
-	fds           []string
-	process       *Process
-	bootstrapData io.Reader
+	cmd             *exec.Cmd
+	parentPipe      *os.File
+	childPipe       *os.File
+	cgroupPaths     map[string]string
+	rootlessCgroups bool
+	intelRdtPath    string
+	config          *initConfig
+	fds             []string
+	process         *Process
+	bootstrapData   io.Reader
 }
 
 func (p *setnsProcess) startTime() (uint64, error) {
@@ -86,7 +87,7 @@ func (p *setnsProcess) start() (err error) {
 		return newSystemErrorWithCause(err, "executing setns process")
 	}
 	if len(p.cgroupPaths) > 0 {
-		if err := cgroups.EnterPid(p.cgroupPaths, p.pid()); err != nil {
+		if err := cgroups.EnterPid(p.cgroupPaths, p.pid()); err != nil && !p.rootlessCgroups {
 			return newSystemErrorWithCausef(err, "adding pid %d to cgroups", p.pid())
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/libcontainer/specconv/example.go b/libcontainer/specconv/example.go
index c113b337..827ca9e7 100644
--- a/libcontainer/specconv/example.go
+++ b/libcontainer/specconv/example.go
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ func Example() *specs.Spec {
 }
 
 // ToRootless converts the given spec file into one that should work with
-// rootless containers, by removing incompatible options and adding others that
+// rootless containers (euid != 0), by removing incompatible options and adding others that
 // are needed.
 func ToRootless(spec *specs.Spec) {
 	var namespaces []specs.LinuxNamespace
diff --git a/libcontainer/specconv/spec_linux.go b/libcontainer/specconv/spec_linux.go
index 4f126066..9ba34784 100644
--- a/libcontainer/specconv/spec_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/specconv/spec_linux.go
@@ -148,7 +148,8 @@ type CreateOpts struct {
 	NoPivotRoot      bool
 	NoNewKeyring     bool
 	Spec             *specs.Spec
-	Rootless         bool
+	RootlessEUID     bool
+	RootlessCgroups  bool
 }
 
 // CreateLibcontainerConfig creates a new libcontainer configuration from a
@@ -176,13 +177,14 @@ func CreateLibcontainerConfig(opts *CreateOpts) (*configs.Config, error) {
 		labels = append(labels, fmt.Sprintf("%s=%s", k, v))
 	}
 	config := &configs.Config{
-		Rootfs:       rootfsPath,
-		NoPivotRoot:  opts.NoPivotRoot,
-		Readonlyfs:   spec.Root.Readonly,
-		Hostname:     spec.Hostname,
-		Labels:       append(labels, fmt.Sprintf("bundle=%s", cwd)),
-		NoNewKeyring: opts.NoNewKeyring,
-		Rootless:     opts.Rootless,
+		Rootfs:          rootfsPath,
+		NoPivotRoot:     opts.NoPivotRoot,
+		Readonlyfs:      spec.Root.Readonly,
+		Hostname:        spec.Hostname,
+		Labels:          append(labels, fmt.Sprintf("bundle=%s", cwd)),
+		NoNewKeyring:    opts.NoNewKeyring,
+		RootlessEUID:    opts.RootlessEUID,
+		RootlessCgroups: opts.RootlessCgroups,
 	}
 
 	exists := false
@@ -332,12 +334,9 @@ func createCgroupConfig(opts *CreateOpts) (*configs.Cgroup, error) {
 		c.Path = myCgroupPath
 	}
 
-	// In rootless containers, any attempt to make cgroup changes will fail.
-	// libcontainer will validate this and we shouldn't add any cgroup options
-	// the user didn't specify.
-	if !opts.Rootless {
-		c.Resources.AllowedDevices = allowedDevices
-	}
+	// In rootless containers, any attempt to make cgroup changes is likely to fail.
+	// libcontainer will validate this but ignores the error.
+	c.Resources.AllowedDevices = allowedDevices
 	if spec.Linux != nil {
 		r := spec.Linux.Resources
 		if r == nil {
@@ -490,10 +489,8 @@ func createCgroupConfig(opts *CreateOpts) (*configs.Cgroup, error) {
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	if !opts.Rootless {
-		// append the default allowed devices to the end of the list
-		c.Resources.Devices = append(c.Resources.Devices, allowedDevices...)
-	}
+	// append the default allowed devices to the end of the list
+	c.Resources.Devices = append(c.Resources.Devices, allowedDevices...)
 	return c, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/libcontainer/specconv/spec_linux_test.go b/libcontainer/specconv/spec_linux_test.go
index 98ffdbf9..96a8480f 100644
--- a/libcontainer/specconv/spec_linux_test.go
+++ b/libcontainer/specconv/spec_linux_test.go
@@ -417,7 +417,7 @@ func TestDupNamespaces(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestRootlessSpecconvValidate(t *testing.T) {
+func TestNonZeroEUIDCompatibleSpecconvValidate(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, err := os.Stat("/proc/self/ns/user"); os.IsNotExist(err) {
 		t.Skip("userns is unsupported")
 	}
@@ -430,7 +430,8 @@ func TestRootlessSpecconvValidate(t *testing.T) {
 		CgroupName:       "ContainerID",
 		UseSystemdCgroup: false,
 		Spec:             spec,
-		Rootless:         true,
+		RootlessEUID:     true,
+		RootlessCgroups:  true,
 	}
 
 	config, err := CreateLibcontainerConfig(opts)
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 278399a5..072447d1 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -63,13 +63,8 @@ func main() {
 	app.Version = strings.Join(v, "\n")
 
 	root := "/run/runc"
-	rootless, err := isRootless(nil)
-	if err != nil {
-		fatal(err)
-	}
-	if rootless {
-		runtimeDir := os.Getenv("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR")
-		if runtimeDir != "" {
+	if shouldHonorXDGRuntimeDir() {
+		if runtimeDir := os.Getenv("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR"); runtimeDir != "" {
 			root = runtimeDir + "/runc"
 			// According to the XDG specification, we need to set anything in
 			// XDG_RUNTIME_DIR to have a sticky bit if we don't want it to get
@@ -115,7 +110,7 @@ func main() {
 		cli.StringFlag{
 			Name:  "rootless",
 			Value: "auto",
-			Usage: "enable rootless mode ('true', 'false', or 'auto')",
+			Usage: "ignore cgroup permission errors ('true', 'false', or 'auto')",
 		},
 	}
 	app.Commands = []cli.Command{
diff --git a/pause.go b/pause.go
index 3b98dbbb..4e3f8c9a 100644
--- a/pause.go
+++ b/pause.go
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 
 package main
 
-import "github.com/urfave/cli"
+import (
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"github.com/urfave/cli"
+)
 
 var pauseCommand = cli.Command{
 	Name:  "pause",
@@ -18,6 +21,13 @@ Use runc list to identiy instances of containers and their current status.`,
 		if err := checkArgs(context, 1, exactArgs); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		rootlessCg, err := shouldUseRootlessCgroupManager(context)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if rootlessCg {
+			logrus.Warnf("runc pause may fail if you don't have the full access to cgroups")
+		}
 		container, err := getContainer(context)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -44,6 +54,13 @@ Use runc list to identiy instances of containers and their current status.`,
 		if err := checkArgs(context, 1, exactArgs); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		rootlessCg, err := shouldUseRootlessCgroupManager(context)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if rootlessCg {
+			logrus.Warn("runc resume may fail if you don't have the full access to cgroups")
+		}
 		container, err := getContainer(context)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
diff --git a/ps.go b/ps.go
index eec9d5f5..e7f635f4 100644
--- a/ps.go
+++ b/ps.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -28,13 +29,12 @@ var psCommand = cli.Command{
 		if err := checkArgs(context, 1, minArgs); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// XXX: Currently not supported with rootless containers.
-		rootless, err := isRootless(context)
+		rootlessCg, err := shouldUseRootlessCgroupManager(context)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		if rootless {
-			return fmt.Errorf("runc ps requires root")
+		if rootlessCg {
+			logrus.Warn("runc ps may fail if you don't have the full access to cgroups")
 		}
 
 		container, err := getContainer(context)
diff --git a/restore.go b/restore.go
index 134fa06f..0a08cd12 100644
--- a/restore.go
+++ b/restore.go
@@ -3,10 +3,11 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer"
+	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/system"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 )
 
@@ -96,12 +97,8 @@ using the runc checkpoint command.`,
 			return err
 		}
 		// XXX: Currently this is untested with rootless containers.
-		rootless, err := isRootless(context)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if rootless {
-			return fmt.Errorf("runc restore requires root")
+		if os.Geteuid() != 0 || system.RunningInUserNS() {
+			logrus.Warn("runc checkpoint is untested with rootless containers")
 		}
 
 		spec, err := setupSpec(context)
diff --git a/rootless_linux.go b/rootless_linux.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c281682f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/rootless_linux.go
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+// +build linux
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/system"
+	"github.com/urfave/cli"
+)
+
+func shouldUseRootlessCgroupManager(context *cli.Context) (bool, error) {
+	if context != nil {
+		b, err := parseBoolOrAuto(context.GlobalString("rootless"))
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, err
+		}
+		if b != nil {
+			return *b, nil
+		}
+		// nil b stands for "auto detect"
+	}
+	if context.GlobalBool("systemd-cgroup") {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	if os.Geteuid() != 0 {
+		return true, nil
+	}
+	if !system.RunningInUserNS() {
+		// euid == 0 , in the initial ns (i.e. the real root)
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	// euid = 0, in a userns.
+	// As we are unaware of cgroups path, we can't determine whether we have the full
+	// access to the cgroups path.
+	// Either way, we can safely decide to use the rootless cgroups manager.
+	return true, nil
+}
+
+func shouldHonorXDGRuntimeDir() bool {
+	if os.Getenv("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR") == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	if os.Geteuid() != 0 {
+		return true
+	}
+	if !system.RunningInUserNS() {
+		// euid == 0 , in the initial ns (i.e. the real root)
+		// in this case, we should use /run/runc and ignore
+		// $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR (e.g. /run/user/0) for backward
+		// compatibility.
+		return false
+	}
+	// euid = 0, in a userns.
+	u, ok := os.LookupEnv("USER")
+	return !ok || u != "root"
+}
diff --git a/spec.go b/spec.go
index 26e9754e..bdafa744 100644
--- a/spec.go
+++ b/spec.go
@@ -61,7 +61,11 @@ container on your host.
 Alternatively, you can start a rootless container, which has the ability to run
 without root privileges. For this to work, the specification file needs to be
 adjusted accordingly. You can pass the parameter --rootless to this command to
-generate a proper rootless spec file.`,
+generate a proper rootless spec file.
+
+Note that --rootless is not needed when you execute runc as the root in a user namespace
+created by an unprivileged user.
+`,
 	Flags: []cli.Flag{
 		cli.StringFlag{
 			Name:  "bundle, b",
diff --git a/utils_linux.go b/utils_linux.go
index c6a34897..07f3a216 100644
--- a/utils_linux.go
+++ b/utils_linux.go
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/configs"
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/intelrdt"
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/specconv"
-	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/system"
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runc/libcontainer/utils"
 	"github.com/opencontainers/runtime-spec/specs-go"
 
@@ -39,11 +38,11 @@ func loadFactory(context *cli.Context) (libcontainer.Factory, error) {
 	// We default to cgroupfs, and can only use systemd if the system is a
 	// systemd box.
 	cgroupManager := libcontainer.Cgroupfs
-	rootless, err := isRootless(context)
+	rootlessCg, err := shouldUseRootlessCgroupManager(context)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	if rootless {
+	if rootlessCg {
 		cgroupManager = libcontainer.RootlessCgroupfs
 	}
 	if context.GlobalBool("systemd-cgroup") {
@@ -226,27 +225,8 @@ func createPidFile(path string, process *libcontainer.Process) error {
 	return os.Rename(tmpName, path)
 }
 
-func isRootless(context *cli.Context) (bool, error) {
-	if context != nil {
-		b, err := parseBoolOrAuto(context.GlobalString("rootless"))
-		if err != nil {
-			return false, err
-		}
-		if b != nil {
-			return *b, nil
-		}
-		// nil b stands for "auto detect"
-	}
-	// Even if os.Geteuid() == 0, it might still require rootless mode,
-	// especially when running within userns.
-	// So we use system.GetParentNSeuid() here.
-	//
-	// TODO(AkihiroSuda): how to support nested userns?
-	return system.GetParentNSeuid() != 0 || system.RunningInUserNS(), nil
-}
-
 func createContainer(context *cli.Context, id string, spec *specs.Spec) (libcontainer.Container, error) {
-	rootless, err := isRootless(context)
+	rootlessCg, err := shouldUseRootlessCgroupManager(context)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -256,7 +236,8 @@ func createContainer(context *cli.Context, id string, spec *specs.Spec) (libcont
 		NoPivotRoot:      context.Bool("no-pivot"),
 		NoNewKeyring:     context.Bool("no-new-keyring"),
 		Spec:             spec,
-		Rootless:         rootless,
+		RootlessEUID:     os.Geteuid() != 0,
+		RootlessCgroups:  rootlessCg,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err