diff --git a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/lxd-agent.nix b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/lxd-agent.nix
index 5386cc5c439a..41d08b515648 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/virtualisation/lxd-agent.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/virtualisation/lxd-agent.nix
@@ -60,7 +60,13 @@ in {
       wantedBy = [ "multi-user.target" ];
       before = [ "shutdown.target" ];
       conflicts = [ "shutdown.target" ];
-      path = [ pkgs.kmod pkgs.util-linux ];
+      path = [
+        pkgs.kmod
+        pkgs.util-linux
+
+        # allow `incus exec` to find system binaries
+        "/run/current-system/sw"
+      ];
 
       preStart = preStartScript;
 
diff --git a/nixos/tests/incus/virtual-machine.nix b/nixos/tests/incus/virtual-machine.nix
index be5746ef63e2..343a25ca7297 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/incus/virtual-machine.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/incus/virtual-machine.nix
@@ -53,5 +53,8 @@ in
 
     with subtest("lxd-agent is started"):
         machine.succeed("incus exec ${instance-name} systemctl is-active lxd-agent")
+
+    with subtest("lxd-agent has a valid path"):
+        machine.succeed("incus exec ${instance-name} -- bash -c 'true'")
   '';
 })