diff --git a/bot_bottle/agent_provider.py b/bot_bottle/agent_provider.py
index a5bb084..feb8a50 100644
--- a/bot_bottle/agent_provider.py
+++ b/bot_bottle/agent_provider.py
@@ -227,6 +227,10 @@ class AgentProvider(ABC):
         from .backend.util import AGENT_CA_PATH, log_ca_fingerprint, select_ca_cert
         from .log import die
         cert_host_path, label = select_ca_cert(plan.egress_plan)
+        # Ensure the target directory exists. smolvm's pack step may not
+        # preserve the empty /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/ directory
+        # on Linux; mkdir -p is idempotent and safe for all backends.
+        bottle.exec("mkdir -p /usr/local/share/ca-certificates", user="root")
         bottle.cp_in(str(cert_host_path), AGENT_CA_PATH)
         r = bottle.exec(
             f"chmod 644 {AGENT_CA_PATH} && update-ca-certificates",