diff --git a/pkg/cmd.go b/pkg/cmd.go
index 5dd6f0e..874488e 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd.go
@@ -50,8 +50,10 @@ func ParseFlags(progname string, args []string) (*Config, string, error) {
 }
 
 // LoadConfig loads configuration from a YAML file
+var readFileFunc = os.ReadFile
+
 func LoadConfig(configPath string) (*Config, error) {
-	data, err := os.ReadFile(configPath)
+	data, err := readFileFunc(configPath)
 	if err != nil {
 		if os.IsNotExist(err) {
 			// Return an empty config if the file does not exist
diff --git a/pkg/cmd_test.go b/pkg/cmd_test.go
index cfa2b8b..6b7e8c2 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd_test.go
@@ -245,6 +245,20 @@ input:
 	}
 }
 
+func TestLoadConfig_PermissionDenied(t *testing.T) {
+	restrictedDir := "/restricted"
+	configFilePath := restrictedDir + "/restricted.yaml"
+
+	readFileFunc = func(filename string) ([]byte, error) {
+		return nil, os.ErrPermission
+	}
+	defer func() { readFileFunc = os.ReadFile }()
+
+	conf, err := LoadConfig(configFilePath)
+	assert.ErrorIs(t, err, os.ErrPermission, "Expected permission denied error")
+	assert.Nil(t, conf, "Expected config to be nil for permission denied error")
+}
+
 func TestMergeConfig(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		name           string