diff --git a/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh b/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
index 7ea62e48..7ceb6571 100755
--- a/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
+++ b/image-recipe/build-auto-installer-iso.sh
@@ -186,6 +186,15 @@ check_tools() {
     
     echo "Using container runtime: $CONTAINER_CMD"
 
+    # Fix root podman D-Bus issue (sd-bus: Transport endpoint is not connected)
+    # When running as sudo, systemd cgroup manager can't reach the user D-Bus session.
+    if [ "$CONTAINER_CMD" = "podman" ] && [ "$(id -u)" = "0" ]; then
+        if ! $CONTAINER_CMD run --rm debian:bookworm true 2>/dev/null; then
+            echo "   Root podman D-Bus issue detected, using cgroupfs manager"
+            CONTAINER_CMD="podman --cgroup-manager=cgroupfs"
+        fi
+    fi
+
     # Ensure insecure registry config for Archipelago app registry (HTTP)
     if [ "$CONTAINER_CMD" = "podman" ]; then
         mkdir -p /etc/containers/registries.conf.d