diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh b/pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh
index 8081b69bffd3..b49846fa050c 100644
--- a/pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/generic/setup.sh
@@ -384,7 +384,9 @@ paxmark() { true; }
 
 # Prevent OpenSSL-based applications from using certificates in
 # /etc/ssl.
-export SSL_CERT_FILE=/no-cert-file.crt
+if [ -z "$SSL_CERT_FILE" ]; then
+  export SSL_CERT_FILE=/no-cert-file.crt
+fi
 
 
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