diff --git a/lib/steps.js b/lib/steps.js
index df4e4fc..9c83b2b 100644
--- a/lib/steps.js
+++ b/lib/steps.js
@@ -647,7 +647,11 @@ function extractMetadata(passon) {
 
         // create output dir to avoid later issues with access rights
         // (if directory is created a a side effect of the Bind below it belongs to root)
-        fse.mkdirSync(metaextract_output_dir);
+        try {
+          fse.mkdirSync(metaextract_output_dir);
+        } catch(e) {
+            debug('[%s] error creating metadata output directory at %s: %s', passon.id, metaextract_output_dir, e);
+        }
 
         // run metadata extraction container
         let create_options = Object.assign(