diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/nolibc/nolibc-test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/nolibc/nolibc-test.c
index 55cc2296c292b..bc2f40c9cee64 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/nolibc/nolibc-test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/nolibc/nolibc-test.c
@@ -1064,6 +1064,9 @@ int prepare(void)
 		}
 	}
 
+	/* some tests rely on a writable /tmp */
+	mkdir("/tmp", 0755);
+
 	return 0;
 }