diff --git a/gnu/local.mk b/gnu/local.mk
index 2f0acc8257f..5300d3fbcbf 100644
--- a/gnu/local.mk
+++ b/gnu/local.mk
@@ -1136,6 +1136,7 @@ dist_patch_DATA =						\
   %D%/packages/patches/csvkit-set-locale-for-tests.patch			\
   %D%/packages/patches/ctranslate2-local-build.patch		\
   %D%/packages/patches/cube-nocheck.patch			\
+  %D%/packages/patches/cups-relax-root-ownership-check.patch		\
   %D%/packages/patches/cura-engine-gcc-14.patch			\
   %D%/packages/patches/curl-CVE-2024-8096.patch			\
   %D%/packages/patches/curl-use-ssl-cert-env.patch		\
diff --git a/gnu/packages/cups.scm b/gnu/packages/cups.scm
index 7f9cedd2f24..5bed0580316 100644
--- a/gnu/packages/cups.scm
+++ b/gnu/packages/cups.scm
@@ -332,7 +332,8 @@ filters for the PDF-centric printing workflow introduced by OpenPrinting.")
        ;; Avoid NAME confusion: these are the complete CUPS sources.
        (file-name (git-file-name "cups" version))
        (sha256
-        (base32 "1dk5salizxy1qm19gw93ffdd34hsn1cd4s57nwl7nfhwwirkiri2"))))
+        (base32 "1dk5salizxy1qm19gw93ffdd34hsn1cd4s57nwl7nfhwwirkiri2"))
+       (patches (search-patches "cups-relax-root-ownership-check.patch"))))
     (build-system gnu-build-system)
     (arguments
      (list #:configure-flags
diff --git a/gnu/packages/patches/cups-relax-root-ownership-check.patch b/gnu/packages/patches/cups-relax-root-ownership-check.patch
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f24461153d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gnu/packages/patches/cups-relax-root-ownership-check.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+From 943e44dafa192b54fadcbb24f5f87d62a22c9f84 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
+From: Sergey Trofimov <sarg@sarg.org.ru>
+Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2025 12:09:34 +0200
+Subject: [PATCH] Exempt files in /gnu/store from root ownership check.
+
+---
+ cups/file.c | 5 +++--
+ 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
+
+diff --git a/cups/file.c b/cups/file.c
+index 95054f3c8..9822619d4 100644
+--- a/cups/file.c
++++ b/cups/file.c
+@@ -159,7 +159,8 @@ _cupsFileCheck(
+   * 4. Must not be writable by others
+   */
+ 
+-  if (fileinfo.st_uid ||		/* 1. Must be owned by root */
++  int in_gnu_store = !strncmp(filename, "/gnu/store/", 11);
++  if ((fileinfo.st_uid && !in_gnu_store) ||		/* 1. Must be owned by root or be in /gnu/store */
+       (fileinfo.st_mode & S_IWGRP)  ||	/* 2. Must not be writable by group */
+       (fileinfo.st_mode & S_ISUID) ||	/* 3. Must not be setuid */
+       (fileinfo.st_mode & S_IWOTH))	/* 4. Must not be writable by others */
+@@ -198,7 +199,7 @@ _cupsFileCheck(
+     goto finishup;
+   }
+ 
+-  if (fileinfo.st_uid ||		/* 1. Must be owned by root */
++  if ((fileinfo.st_uid && !in_gnu_store) ||		/* 1. Must be owned by root or be in /gnu/store */
+       (fileinfo.st_mode & S_IWGRP) ||	/* 2. Must not be writable by group */
+       (fileinfo.st_mode & S_ISUID) ||	/* 3. Must not be setuid */
+       (fileinfo.st_mode & S_IWOTH))	/* 4. Must not be writable by others */
+-- 
+2.51.0