diff --git a/test/integration-tests/README.md b/test/integration-tests/README.md
index 229e802632..e5f7c76713 100644
--- a/test/integration-tests/README.md
+++ b/test/integration-tests/README.md
@@ -120,6 +120,15 @@ rerun the test.
 `TEST_NO_KVM=1`: Disable qemu KVM auto-detection (may be necessary when you're
 trying to run the *vanilla* qemu and have both qemu and qemu-kvm installed)
 
+`TEST_MKOSI_ARGS=options`: Extra options (split like a shell command line)
+passed to the `mkosi` invocation that launches the test image, without
+affecting the image build. Only the `--option=value` syntax is accepted. For example,
+`TEST_MKOSI_ARGS="--format=directory --output-dir=build/mkosi.output.dir"`
+boots the test container from a directory format output (which has to be built
+beforehand, into a separate output directory), allowing boot mode tests to run
+in environments that can't dissect disk images, such as unprivileged
+containers, where loop devices and udev are not available.
+
 `TEST_MATCH_SUBTEST=subtest`:  If the test makes use of `run_subtests` use this
 variable to provide a POSIX extended regex to run only subtests matching the
 expression.
diff --git a/test/integration-tests/integration-test-wrapper.py b/test/integration-tests/integration-test-wrapper.py
index ed8a8f2607..1324b6ccd3 100755
--- a/test/integration-tests/integration-test-wrapper.py
+++ b/test/integration-tests/integration-test-wrapper.py
@@ -365,6 +365,15 @@ def process_coverage(args: argparse.Namespace, summary: Summary, name: str, jour
             print(f'Wrote coverage report for {name} to {output}', file=sys.stderr)
 
 
+def in_userns() -> bool:
+    # The initial user namespace has a well-known inode number (USER_NS_INIT_INO, linux/nsfs.h).
+    # Without kernel support for user namespaces, ours can only be the initial one.
+    try:
+        return os.stat('/proc/self/ns/user').st_ino != 0xEFFFFFFD
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+
+
 def coco_host_type() -> Optional[str]:
     try:
         if Path('/sys/module/kvm_intel/parameters/tdx').read_text().strip() == 'Y':
@@ -661,6 +670,12 @@ def main() -> None:
             '''
         )
 
+    # Extra mkosi options for this invocation only. Each has to use the '--option=value' syntax.
+    test_mkosi_args = shlex.split(os.getenv('TEST_MKOSI_ARGS', ''))
+    for arg in test_mkosi_args:
+        if not re.fullmatch('--[^=]+=.*', arg):
+            sys.exit(f"TEST_MKOSI_ARGS must contain only '--option=value' mkosi options, got: {arg}")
+
     cmd = [
         args.mkosi,
         '--directory', os.fspath(args.mkosi_dir),
@@ -704,9 +719,29 @@ def main() -> None:
         ),
         '--credential', f"journal.storage={'persistent' if sys.stdin.isatty() else args.storage}",
         *(['--runtime-build-sources=no', '--register=no'] if not sys.stdin.isatty() else []),
+        *test_mkosi_args,
         'vm' if vm else 'boot',
         *(
-            ['--', '--capability=CAP_BPF', f'--suppress-sync={"yes" if args.suppress_sync else "no"}', *vm_images_args, *coco_boot_args]
+            [
+                '--',
+                '--capability=CAP_BPF',
+                f'--suppress-sync={"yes" if args.suppress_sync else "no"}',
+                # In a non-initial user namespace the kernel only allows mounting a fresh proc or
+                # sysfs if the mount namespace already contains a fully visible mount of the same
+                # filesystem type (mount_too_revealing()), which nspawn's pivoted root doesn't.
+                # Satisfy the check with read-only binds, but only when actually confined, as
+                # they expose the outer proc and sysfs to the container. Bind non-recursively:
+                # carried-along submounts (e.g. lxcfs overmounts of container runtimes) would
+                # spoil full visibility wherever they end up locked, and --bind-ro wouldn't make
+                # them read-only either.
+                *(
+                    ['--bind-ro=/proc:/work/proc:norbind', '--bind-ro=/sys:/work/sys:norbind']
+                    if in_userns()
+                    else []
+                ),
+                *vm_images_args,
+                *coco_boot_args,
+            ]
             if not vm
             else []
         ),