diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yaml b/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yaml
index 3a37dc7984e..eb29d633770 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yaml
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup repo and non-root user
       run: |
           git --version
+          git config --global --add safe.directory /__w/spack/spack
           git fetch --unshallow
           . .github/workflows/setup_git.sh
           useradd spack-test