diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index 894d3c378276..7f6fe598e109 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v6.2.3...master[Check the HEAD diff]
 - Add hex decoding for the name field in audit path records. {pull}6687[6687]
 - Fixed a deadlock in the file_integrity module under Windows. {issue}6864[6864]
 - Fixed parsing of AppArmor audit messages. {pull}6978[6978]
+- Allow `auditbeat setup` to run without requiring elevated privileges for the audit client. {issue}7111[7111]
 
 *Filebeat*
 
diff --git a/metricbeat/beater/metricbeat.go b/metricbeat/beater/metricbeat.go
index f0d26263a939..dd11cba1e838 100644
--- a/metricbeat/beater/metricbeat.go
+++ b/metricbeat/beater/metricbeat.go
@@ -98,6 +98,11 @@ func newMetricbeat(b *beat.Beat, c *common.Config, options ...Option) (*Metricbe
 		applyOption(metricbeat)
 	}
 
+	if b.InSetupCmd {
+		// Return without instantiating the metricsets.
+		return metricbeat, nil
+	}
+
 	moduleOptions := append(
 		[]module.Option{module.WithMaxStartDelay(config.MaxStartDelay)},
 		metricbeat.moduleOptions...)