diff --git a/pkg/domain/infra/abi/system.go b/pkg/domain/infra/abi/system.go
index 8d7a830500d0..987df8dfb93e 100644
--- a/pkg/domain/infra/abi/system.go
+++ b/pkg/domain/infra/abi/system.go
@@ -88,7 +88,8 @@ func (ic *ContainerEngine) SetupRootless(_ context.Context, noMoveProcess bool)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if hasCapSysAdmin {
+	// check for both euid == 0 and CAP_SYS_ADMIN because we may be running in a container with CAP_SYS_ADMIN set.
+	if os.Geteuid() == 0 && hasCapSysAdmin {
 		ownsCgroup, err := cgroups.UserOwnsCurrentSystemdCgroup()
 		if err != nil {
 			logrus.Infof("Failed to detect the owner for the current cgroup: %v", err)