diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-ddil.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-ddil.yml
index a7fde3c24..f1bdfbe0a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-ddil.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-ddil.yml
@@ -76,6 +76,14 @@ jobs:
           echo "${BIN_DIR}" >> "${GITHUB_PATH}"
           "${BIN_DIR}/gotestsum" --version
 
+      - name: Install kmod (depmod)
+        # build-microvm-image's mandatory-tool preflight requires depmod (from
+        # the kmod package); self-hosted runners don't ship it. Idempotent —
+        # no-op once baked into the runner/gold image.
+        run: |
+          command -v depmod >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
+            { sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends kmod; }
+
       - name: Build Install Artifacts
         working-directory: mulga/scripts/tofu-cluster
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-nightly.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-nightly.yml
index 39282bbd0..88b0feb14 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-nightly.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-nightly.yml
@@ -78,6 +78,15 @@ jobs:
           sparse-checkout: scripts/tofu-cluster
           path: mulga
 
+      - name: Install kmod (depmod)
+        if: steps.gate.outputs.selected == 'true'
+        # build-microvm-image's mandatory-tool preflight requires depmod (from
+        # the kmod package); self-hosted runners don't ship it. Idempotent —
+        # no-op once baked into the runner/gold image.
+        run: |
+          command -v depmod >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
+            { sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends kmod; }
+
       - name: Build Install Artifacts
         if: steps.gate.outputs.selected == 'true'
         working-directory: mulga/scripts/tofu-cluster
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
index 9a9aa78ec..203525797 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e.yml
@@ -113,6 +113,14 @@ jobs:
           docker buildx prune -af --filter "until=24h" || true
           docker system df || true
 
+      - name: Install kmod (depmod)
+        # build-microvm-image's mandatory-tool preflight requires depmod (from
+        # the kmod package) to generate modules.dep; self-hosted runners don't
+        # ship it. Idempotent — no-op once baked into the runner/gold image.
+        run: |
+          command -v depmod >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
+            { sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends kmod; }
+
       - name: Build Install Artifacts
         working-directory: mulga/scripts/tofu-cluster
         run: |
@@ -512,6 +520,14 @@ jobs:
           docker buildx prune -af --filter "until=24h" || true
           docker system df || true
 
+      - name: Install kmod (depmod)
+        # build-microvm-image's mandatory-tool preflight requires depmod (from
+        # the kmod package) to generate modules.dep; self-hosted runners don't
+        # ship it. Idempotent — no-op once baked into the runner/gold image.
+        run: |
+          command -v depmod >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
+            { sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends kmod; }
+
       - name: Build Install Artifacts
         working-directory: mulga/scripts/tofu-cluster
         run: |
@@ -928,6 +944,14 @@ jobs:
           docker buildx prune -af --filter "until=24h" || true
           docker system df || true
 
+      - name: Install kmod (depmod)
+        # build-microvm-image's mandatory-tool preflight requires depmod (from
+        # the kmod package) to generate modules.dep; self-hosted runners don't
+        # ship it. Idempotent — no-op once baked into the runner/gold image.
+        run: |
+          command -v depmod >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
+            { sudo apt-get update -qq && sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends kmod; }
+
       - name: Build Install Artifacts
         working-directory: mulga/scripts/tofu-cluster
         run: |