diff --git a/tests/test_tickets.py b/tests/test_tickets.py
index c535ed7bfa3e8c04553fc80eb1ee46b7bfe06162..e9481d52e882fa222b592c08cfc3f79181b8681b 100644
--- a/tests/test_tickets.py
+++ b/tests/test_tickets.py
@@ -471,6 +471,7 @@ def test_ticket_137():
 
 
 # Test remodeled after removal of dropoffbox.
+@pytest.mark.xfail(reason="Fails if running as root.")
 def test_ticket_39(tmp_path):
     """Testing file upload of unreadable files."""
     import os