diff --git a/common/include/villas/utils.hpp b/common/include/villas/utils.hpp
index e60e93c42..e108439c4 100644
--- a/common/include/villas/utils.hpp
+++ b/common/include/villas/utils.hpp
@@ -208,6 +208,9 @@ bool isKubernetes();
 /** Check if process is running inside a containerized environment */
 bool isContainer();
 
+/** Check if the process is running in a privileged environment (has SYS_ADMIN capability). */
+bool isPrivileged();
+
 namespace base64 {
 
 using byte = std::uint8_t;
diff --git a/common/lib/utils.cpp b/common/lib/utils.cpp
index 060dde11f..61d099d28 100644
--- a/common/lib/utils.cpp
+++ b/common/lib/utils.cpp
@@ -371,5 +371,17 @@ bool isContainer() {
 	return isDocker() || isKubernetes();
 }
 
+bool isPrivileged() {
+	// TODO: a cleaner way would be to use libcap here and check for the
+	//       SYS_ADMIN capability.
+	auto *f = fopen(PROCFS_PATH "/sys/vm/nr_hugepages", "w");
+	if (!f)
+		return false;
+
+	fclose(f);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
 } /* namespace utils */
 } /* namespace villas */