diff --git a/libcontainer/container_linux.go b/libcontainer/container_linux.go
index 21e77932526..3c080f7040a 100644
--- a/libcontainer/container_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/container_linux.go
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ func (c *linuxContainer) Start(process *Process) error {
 	c.m.Lock()
 	defer c.m.Unlock()
 	if c.config.Cgroups.Resources.SkipDevices {
-		return &ConfigError{"can't start container with SkipDevices set"}
+		return errors.New("can't start container with SkipDevices set")
 	}
 	if process.Init {
 		if err := c.createExecFifo(); err != nil {
diff --git a/libcontainer/error.go b/libcontainer/error.go
index bd5ad1f8bf7..510c072264f 100644
--- a/libcontainer/error.go
+++ b/libcontainer/error.go
@@ -11,11 +11,3 @@ var (
 	ErrNotRunning = errors.New("container not running")
 	ErrNotPaused  = errors.New("container not paused")
 )
-
-type ConfigError struct {
-	details string
-}
-
-func (e *ConfigError) Error() string {
-	return "invalid configuration: " + e.details
-}
diff --git a/libcontainer/factory_linux.go b/libcontainer/factory_linux.go
index 63cf57b099b..6c1b48b9334 100644
--- a/libcontainer/factory_linux.go
+++ b/libcontainer/factory_linux.go
@@ -251,13 +251,13 @@ type LinuxFactory struct {
 
 func (l *LinuxFactory) Create(id string, config *configs.Config) (Container, error) {
 	if l.Root == "" {
-		return nil, &ConfigError{"invalid root"}
+		return nil, errors.New("root not set")
 	}
 	if err := l.validateID(id); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	if err := l.Validator.Validate(config); err != nil {
-		return nil, &ConfigError{err.Error()}
+		return nil, err
 	}
 	containerRoot, err := securejoin.SecureJoin(l.Root, id)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ func (l *LinuxFactory) Create(id string, config *configs.Config) (Container, err
 
 func (l *LinuxFactory) Load(id string) (Container, error) {
 	if l.Root == "" {
-		return nil, &ConfigError{"invalid root"}
+		return nil, errors.New("root not set")
 	}
 	// when load, we need to check id is valid or not.
 	if err := l.validateID(id); err != nil {