diff --git a/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-common-unix-options.asciidoc b/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-common-unix-options.asciidoc
index 443fe761274..f73278944a6 100644
--- a/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-common-unix-options.asciidoc
+++ b/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-common-unix-options.asciidoc
@@ -16,6 +16,22 @@ The maximum size of the message received over the socket. The default is `20MiB`
 
 The path to the Unix socket that will receive event streams.
 
+[float]
+[id="{beatname_lc}-input-{type}-unix-group"]
+==== `group`
+
+The group ownership of the Unix socket that will be created by Filebeat.
+The default is the primary group name for the user Filebeat is running as.
+This option is ignored on Windows.
+
+[float]
+[id="{beatname_lc}-input-{type}-unix-mode"]
+==== `mode`
+
+The file mode of the Unix socket that will be created by Filebeat. This is
+expected to be a file mode as an octal string. The default value is the system
+default (generally `0755`).
+
 [float]
 [id="{beatname_lc}-input-{type}-unix-line-delimiter"]
 ==== `line_delimiter`
diff --git a/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-syslog.asciidoc b/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-syslog.asciidoc
index 0c360a03f7f..f9a24c04b81 100644
--- a/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-syslog.asciidoc
+++ b/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-syslog.asciidoc
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ include::../inputs/input-common-tcp-options.asciidoc[]
 
 ===== Protocol `unix`:
 
+beta[]
+
 include::../inputs/input-common-unix-options.asciidoc[]
 
 [id="{beatname_lc}-input-{type}-common-options"]
diff --git a/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-unix.asciidoc b/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-unix.asciidoc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a2f445159b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/filebeat/docs/inputs/input-unix.asciidoc
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+:type: unix
+
+[id="{beatname_lc}-input-{type}"]
+=== Unix input
+
+beta[]
+
+++++
+<titleabbrev>Unix</titleabbrev>
+++++
+
+Use the `unix` input to read events over a stream-oriented Unix domain socket.
+
+Example configuration:
+
+["source","yaml",subs="attributes"]
+----
+{beatname_lc}.inputs:
+- type: unix
+  max_message_size: 10MiB
+  path: "/var/run/filebeat.sock"
+----
+
+
+==== Configuration options
+
+The `unix` input supports the following configuration options plus the
+<<{beatname_lc}-input-{type}-common-options>> described later.
+
+include::../inputs/input-common-unix-options.asciidoc[]
+
+[id="{beatname_lc}-input-{type}-common-options"]
+include::../inputs/input-common-options.asciidoc[]
+
+:type!:
diff --git a/filebeat/input/syslog/config.go b/filebeat/input/syslog/config.go
index 5b6ac1452b4..ff009bfb1dd 100644
--- a/filebeat/input/syslog/config.go
+++ b/filebeat/input/syslog/config.go
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/filebeat/inputsource/udp"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/filebeat/inputsource/unix"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/common"
+	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/common/cfgwarn"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/logp"
 )
 
@@ -98,6 +99,8 @@ func factory(
 
 		return tcp.New(&config.Config, factory)
 	case unix.Name:
+		cfgwarn.Beta("Syslog Unix socket support is beta.")
+
 		config := defaultUnix
 		if err := cfg.Unpack(&config); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
diff --git a/filebeat/input/unix/input.go b/filebeat/input/unix/input.go
index 12c091f00da..19609cb5ab8 100644
--- a/filebeat/input/unix/input.go
+++ b/filebeat/input/unix/input.go
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/filebeat/inputsource/unix"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/beat"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/common"
+	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/common/cfgwarn"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/logp"
 )
 
@@ -56,6 +57,7 @@ func NewInput(
 	connector channel.Connector,
 	context input.Context,
 ) (input.Input, error) {
+	cfgwarn.Beta("Unix socket support is beta.")
 
 	out, err := connector.ConnectWith(cfg, beat.ClientConfig{
 		Processing: beat.ProcessingConfig{
diff --git a/filebeat/inputsource/unix/config.go b/filebeat/inputsource/unix/config.go
index 79b2a43dd08..5051ab86e75 100644
--- a/filebeat/inputsource/unix/config.go
+++ b/filebeat/inputsource/unix/config.go
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ const Name = "unix"
 // Config exposes the unix configuration.
 type Config struct {
 	Path           string           `config:"path"`
+	Group          *string          `config:"group"`
+	Mode           *string          `config:"mode"`
 	Timeout        time.Duration    `config:"timeout" validate:"nonzero,positive"`
 	MaxMessageSize cfgtype.ByteSize `config:"max_message_size" validate:"nonzero,positive"`
 	MaxConnections int              `config:"max_connections"`
diff --git a/filebeat/inputsource/unix/server.go b/filebeat/inputsource/unix/server.go
index 965a3300282..ee9a0f4564d 100644
--- a/filebeat/inputsource/unix/server.go
+++ b/filebeat/inputsource/unix/server.go
@@ -20,10 +20,16 @@ package unix
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
+	"os"
+	"os/user"
+	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
 
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"golang.org/x/net/netutil"
 
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/filebeat/inputsource/common"
+	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/logp"
 )
 
 // Server represent a unix server
@@ -55,13 +61,91 @@ func New(
 }
 
 func (s *Server) createServer() (net.Listener, error) {
+	if err := s.cleanupStaleSocket(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	l, err := net.Listen("unix", s.config.Path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
+	if err := s.setSocketOwnership(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	if err := s.setSocketMode(); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	if s.config.MaxConnections > 0 {
 		return netutil.LimitListener(l, s.config.MaxConnections), nil
 	}
 	return l, nil
 }
+
+func (s *Server) cleanupStaleSocket() error {
+	path := s.config.Path
+	info, err := os.Lstat(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		// If the file does not exist, then the cleanup can be considered successful.
+		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			return nil
+		}
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "cannot lstat unix socket file at location %s", path)
+	}
+
+	if runtime.GOOS != "windows" {
+		// see https://github.com/golang/go/issues/33357 for context on Windows socket file attributes bug
+		if info.Mode()&os.ModeSocket == 0 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("refusing to remove file at location %s, it is not a socket", path)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "cannot remove existing unix socket file at location %s", path)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (s *Server) setSocketOwnership() error {
+	if s.config.Group != nil {
+		if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+			logp.NewLogger("unix").Warn("windows does not support the 'group' configuration option, ignoring")
+			return nil
+		}
+		g, err := user.LookupGroup(*s.config.Group)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		gid, err := strconv.Atoi(g.Gid)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		return os.Chown(s.config.Path, -1, gid)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (s *Server) setSocketMode() error {
+	if s.config.Mode != nil {
+		mode, err := parseFileMode(*s.config.Mode)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		return os.Chmod(s.config.Path, mode)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func parseFileMode(mode string) (os.FileMode, error) {
+	parsed, err := strconv.ParseUint(mode, 8, 32)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	if parsed > 0777 {
+		return 0, errors.New("invalid file mode")
+	}
+	return os.FileMode(parsed), nil
+}
diff --git a/filebeat/inputsource/unix/server_test.go b/filebeat/inputsource/unix/server_test.go
index 36e75c757e9..a9043d14a8e 100644
--- a/filebeat/inputsource/unix/server_test.go
+++ b/filebeat/inputsource/unix/server_test.go
@@ -23,7 +23,10 @@ import (
 	"math/rand"
 	"net"
 	"os"
+	"os/user"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -35,6 +38,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/filebeat/inputsource"
 	netcommon "github.com/elastic/beats/v7/filebeat/inputsource/common"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/common"
+	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/common/file"
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/logp"
 )
 
@@ -207,6 +211,92 @@ func TestReceiveEventsAndMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestSocketOwnershipAndMode(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("changing socket ownership is only supported on non-windows")
+		return
+	}
+
+	groups, err := os.Getgroups()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	if len(groups) <= 1 {
+		t.Skip("no group that we can change to")
+		return
+	}
+
+	group, err := user.LookupGroupId(strconv.Itoa(groups[1]))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	path := filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "test.sock")
+	cfg, _ := common.NewConfigFrom(map[string]interface{}{
+		"path":  path,
+		"group": group.Name,
+		"mode":  "0740",
+	})
+	config := defaultConfig
+	err = cfg.Unpack(&config)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	factory := netcommon.SplitHandlerFactory(netcommon.FamilyUnix, logp.NewLogger("test"), MetadataCallback, nil, netcommon.SplitFunc([]byte("\n")))
+	server, err := New(&config, factory)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	err = server.Start()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer server.Stop()
+
+	info, err := file.Lstat(path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotEqual(t, 0, info.Mode()&os.ModeSocket)
+	require.Equal(t, os.FileMode(0740), info.Mode().Perm())
+	gid, err := info.GID()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, group.Gid, strconv.Itoa(gid))
+}
+
+func TestSocketCleanup(t *testing.T) {
+	path := filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "test.sock")
+	mockStaleSocket, err := net.Listen("unix", path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer mockStaleSocket.Close()
+
+	cfg, _ := common.NewConfigFrom(map[string]interface{}{
+		"path": path,
+	})
+	config := defaultConfig
+	require.NoError(t, cfg.Unpack(&config))
+	factory := netcommon.SplitHandlerFactory(netcommon.FamilyUnix, logp.NewLogger("test"), MetadataCallback, nil, netcommon.SplitFunc([]byte("\n")))
+	server, err := New(&config, factory)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	err = server.Start()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	server.Stop()
+}
+
+func TestSocketCleanupRefusal(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("skipping due to windows FileAttributes bug https://github.com/golang/go/issues/33357")
+		return
+	}
+	path := filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "test.sock")
+	f, err := os.Create(path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+	defer os.Remove(path)
+
+	cfg, _ := common.NewConfigFrom(map[string]interface{}{
+		"path": path,
+	})
+	config := defaultConfig
+	require.NoError(t, cfg.Unpack(&config))
+	factory := netcommon.SplitHandlerFactory(netcommon.FamilyUnix, logp.NewLogger("test"), MetadataCallback, nil, netcommon.SplitFunc([]byte("\n")))
+	server, err := New(&config, factory)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	err = server.Start()
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.Contains(t, err.Error(), "refusing to remove file at location")
+}
+
 func TestReceiveNewEventsConcurrently(t *testing.T) {
 	workers := 4
 	eventsCount := 100
diff --git a/libbeat/common/seccomp/policy_linux_386.go b/libbeat/common/seccomp/policy_linux_386.go
index 76b24714cac..acbc69ddd1f 100644
--- a/libbeat/common/seccomp/policy_linux_386.go
+++ b/libbeat/common/seccomp/policy_linux_386.go
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ func init() {
 					"access",
 					"brk",
 					"chmod",
+					"chown",
 					"clock_gettime",
 					"clone",
 					"close",
diff --git a/libbeat/common/seccomp/policy_linux_amd64.go b/libbeat/common/seccomp/policy_linux_amd64.go
index 92b5fbe488a..bf1e4bc31c5 100644
--- a/libbeat/common/seccomp/policy_linux_amd64.go
+++ b/libbeat/common/seccomp/policy_linux_amd64.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ func init() {
 					"bind",
 					"brk",
 					"chmod",
+					"chown",
 					"clock_gettime",
 					"clone",
 					"close",