diff --git a/psutil/tests/__init__.py b/psutil/tests/__init__.py
index 163f76118..57e45b93d 100644
--- a/psutil/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/psutil/tests/__init__.py
@@ -128,8 +128,8 @@
 GITHUB_ACTIONS = 'GITHUB_ACTIONS' in os.environ or 'CIBUILDWHEEL' in os.environ
 CI_TESTING = APPVEYOR or GITHUB_ACTIONS
 COVERAGE = 'COVERAGE_RUN' in os.environ
-if LINUX:
-    with open('/proc/self/cmdline') as f:
+if LINUX and GITHUB_ACTIONS:
+    with open('/proc/1/cmdline') as f:
         QEMU_USER = "/bin/qemu-" in f.read()
 else:
     QEMU_USER = False