diff --git a/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld.go b/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..188ea61dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld.go
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+// Package firewalld integrates with the firewalld daemon so NetBird can place
+// its wg interface into firewalld's "trusted" zone. This is required because
+// firewalld's nftables chains are created with NFT_CHAIN_OWNER on recent
+// versions, which returns EPERM to any other process that tries to insert
+// rules into them. The workaround mirrors what Tailscale does: let firewalld
+// itself add the accept rules to its own chains by trusting the interface.
+package firewalld
+
+// TrustedZone is the firewalld zone name used for interfaces whose traffic
+// should bypass firewalld filtering.
+const TrustedZone = "trusted"
diff --git a/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_linux.go b/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_linux.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..924a04b0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_linux.go
@@ -0,0 +1,260 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package firewalld
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/godbus/dbus/v5"
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+)
+
+const (
+	dbusDest      = "org.fedoraproject.FirewallD1"
+	dbusPath      = "/org/fedoraproject/FirewallD1"
+	dbusRootIface = "org.fedoraproject.FirewallD1"
+	dbusZoneIface = "org.fedoraproject.FirewallD1.zone"
+
+	errZoneAlreadySet = "ZONE_ALREADY_SET"
+	errAlreadyEnabled = "ALREADY_ENABLED"
+	errUnknownIface   = "UNKNOWN_INTERFACE"
+	errNotEnabled     = "NOT_ENABLED"
+
+	// callTimeout bounds each individual DBus or firewall-cmd invocation.
+	// A fresh context is created for each call so a slow DBus probe can't
+	// exhaust the deadline before the firewall-cmd fallback gets to run.
+	callTimeout = 3 * time.Second
+)
+
+var (
+	errDBusUnavailable = errors.New("firewalld dbus unavailable")
+
+	// trustLogOnce ensures the "added to trusted zone" message is logged at
+	// Info level only for the first successful add per process; repeat adds
+	// from other init paths are quieter.
+	trustLogOnce sync.Once
+
+	parentCtxMu sync.RWMutex
+	parentCtx   context.Context = context.Background()
+)
+
+// SetParentContext installs a parent context whose cancellation aborts any
+// in-flight TrustInterface call. It does not affect UntrustInterface, which
+// always uses a fresh Background-rooted timeout so cleanup can still run
+// during engine shutdown when the engine context is already cancelled.
+func SetParentContext(ctx context.Context) {
+	parentCtxMu.Lock()
+	parentCtx = ctx
+	parentCtxMu.Unlock()
+}
+
+func getParentContext() context.Context {
+	parentCtxMu.RLock()
+	defer parentCtxMu.RUnlock()
+	return parentCtx
+}
+
+// TrustInterface places iface into firewalld's trusted zone if firewalld is
+// running. It is idempotent and best-effort: errors are returned so callers
+// can log, but a non-running firewalld is not an error. Only the first
+// successful call per process logs at Info. Respects the parent context set
+// via SetParentContext so startup-time cancellation unblocks it.
+func TrustInterface(iface string) error {
+	parent := getParentContext()
+	if !isRunning(parent) {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if err := addTrusted(parent, iface); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("add %s to firewalld trusted zone: %w", iface, err)
+	}
+	trustLogOnce.Do(func() {
+		log.Infof("added %s to firewalld trusted zone", iface)
+	})
+	log.Debugf("firewalld: ensured %s is in trusted zone", iface)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// UntrustInterface removes iface from firewalld's trusted zone if firewalld
+// is running. Idempotent. Uses a Background-rooted timeout so it still runs
+// during shutdown after the engine context has been cancelled.
+func UntrustInterface(iface string) error {
+	if !isRunning(context.Background()) {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if err := removeTrusted(context.Background(), iface); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("remove %s from firewalld trusted zone: %w", iface, err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func newCallContext(parent context.Context) (context.Context, context.CancelFunc) {
+	return context.WithTimeout(parent, callTimeout)
+}
+
+func isRunning(parent context.Context) bool {
+	ctx, cancel := newCallContext(parent)
+	ok, err := isRunningDBus(ctx)
+	cancel()
+	if err == nil {
+		return ok
+	}
+	if errors.Is(err, errDBusUnavailable) || errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
+		ctx, cancel = newCallContext(parent)
+		defer cancel()
+		return isRunningCLI(ctx)
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+func addTrusted(parent context.Context, iface string) error {
+	ctx, cancel := newCallContext(parent)
+	err := addDBus(ctx, iface)
+	cancel()
+	if err == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if !errors.Is(err, errDBusUnavailable) {
+		log.Debugf("firewalld: dbus add failed, falling back to firewall-cmd: %v", err)
+	}
+	ctx, cancel = newCallContext(parent)
+	defer cancel()
+	return addCLI(ctx, iface)
+}
+
+func removeTrusted(parent context.Context, iface string) error {
+	ctx, cancel := newCallContext(parent)
+	err := removeDBus(ctx, iface)
+	cancel()
+	if err == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if !errors.Is(err, errDBusUnavailable) {
+		log.Debugf("firewalld: dbus remove failed, falling back to firewall-cmd: %v", err)
+	}
+	ctx, cancel = newCallContext(parent)
+	defer cancel()
+	return removeCLI(ctx, iface)
+}
+
+func isRunningDBus(ctx context.Context) (bool, error) {
+	conn, err := dbus.SystemBus()
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("%w: %v", errDBusUnavailable, err)
+	}
+	obj := conn.Object(dbusDest, dbusPath)
+
+	var zone string
+	if err := obj.CallWithContext(ctx, dbusRootIface+".getDefaultZone", 0).Store(&zone); err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("firewalld getDefaultZone: %w", err)
+	}
+	return true, nil
+}
+
+func isRunningCLI(ctx context.Context) bool {
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("firewall-cmd"); err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	return exec.CommandContext(ctx, "firewall-cmd", "--state").Run() == nil
+}
+
+func addDBus(ctx context.Context, iface string) error {
+	conn, err := dbus.SystemBus()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %v", errDBusUnavailable, err)
+	}
+	obj := conn.Object(dbusDest, dbusPath)
+
+	call := obj.CallWithContext(ctx, dbusZoneIface+".addInterface", 0, TrustedZone, iface)
+	if call.Err == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if dbusErrContains(call.Err, errAlreadyEnabled) {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if dbusErrContains(call.Err, errZoneAlreadySet) {
+		move := obj.CallWithContext(ctx, dbusZoneIface+".changeZoneOfInterface", 0, TrustedZone, iface)
+		if move.Err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("firewalld changeZoneOfInterface: %w", move.Err)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	return fmt.Errorf("firewalld addInterface: %w", call.Err)
+}
+
+func removeDBus(ctx context.Context, iface string) error {
+	conn, err := dbus.SystemBus()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %v", errDBusUnavailable, err)
+	}
+	obj := conn.Object(dbusDest, dbusPath)
+
+	call := obj.CallWithContext(ctx, dbusZoneIface+".removeInterface", 0, TrustedZone, iface)
+	if call.Err == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if dbusErrContains(call.Err, errUnknownIface) || dbusErrContains(call.Err, errNotEnabled) {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	return fmt.Errorf("firewalld removeInterface: %w", call.Err)
+}
+
+func addCLI(ctx context.Context, iface string) error {
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("firewall-cmd"); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("firewall-cmd not available: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// --change-interface (no --permanent) binds the interface for the
+	// current runtime only; we do not want membership to persist across
+	// reboots because netbird re-asserts it on every startup.
+	out, err := exec.CommandContext(ctx,
+		"firewall-cmd", "--zone="+TrustedZone, "--change-interface="+iface,
+	).CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("firewall-cmd change-interface: %w: %s", err, strings.TrimSpace(string(out)))
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func removeCLI(ctx context.Context, iface string) error {
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("firewall-cmd"); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("firewall-cmd not available: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	out, err := exec.CommandContext(ctx,
+		"firewall-cmd", "--zone="+TrustedZone, "--remove-interface="+iface,
+	).CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		msg := strings.TrimSpace(string(out))
+		if strings.Contains(msg, errUnknownIface) || strings.Contains(msg, errNotEnabled) {
+			return nil
+		}
+		return fmt.Errorf("firewall-cmd remove-interface: %w: %s", err, msg)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func dbusErrContains(err error, code string) bool {
+	if err == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	var de dbus.Error
+	if errors.As(err, &de) {
+		for _, b := range de.Body {
+			if s, ok := b.(string); ok && strings.Contains(s, code) {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return strings.Contains(err.Error(), code)
+}
diff --git a/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_linux_test.go b/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_linux_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d812745fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_linux_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package firewalld
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/godbus/dbus/v5"
+)
+
+func TestDBusErrContains(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		err  error
+		code string
+		want bool
+	}{
+		{"nil error", nil, errZoneAlreadySet, false},
+		{"plain error match", errors.New("ZONE_ALREADY_SET: wt0"), errZoneAlreadySet, true},
+		{"plain error miss", errors.New("something else"), errZoneAlreadySet, false},
+		{
+			"dbus.Error body match",
+			dbus.Error{Name: "org.fedoraproject.FirewallD1.Exception", Body: []any{"ZONE_ALREADY_SET: wt0"}},
+			errZoneAlreadySet,
+			true,
+		},
+		{
+			"dbus.Error body miss",
+			dbus.Error{Name: "org.fedoraproject.FirewallD1.Exception", Body: []any{"INVALID_INTERFACE"}},
+			errAlreadyEnabled,
+			false,
+		},
+		{
+			"dbus.Error non-string body falls back to Error()",
+			dbus.Error{Name: "x", Body: []any{123}},
+			"x",
+			true,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := dbusErrContains(tc.err, tc.code)
+			if got != tc.want {
+				t.Fatalf("dbusErrContains(%v, %q) = %v; want %v", tc.err, tc.code, got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_other.go b/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_other.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cfa28221d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/firewall/firewalld/firewalld_other.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+//go:build !linux
+
+package firewalld
+
+import "context"
+
+// SetParentContext is a no-op on non-Linux platforms because firewalld only
+// runs on Linux.
+func SetParentContext(context.Context) {
+	// intentionally empty: firewalld is a Linux-only daemon
+}
+
+// TrustInterface is a no-op on non-Linux platforms because firewalld only
+// runs on Linux.
+func TrustInterface(string) error {
+	// intentionally empty: firewalld is a Linux-only daemon
+	return nil
+}
+
+// UntrustInterface is a no-op on non-Linux platforms because firewalld only
+// runs on Linux.
+func UntrustInterface(string) error {
+	// intentionally empty: firewalld is a Linux-only daemon
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/client/firewall/iptables/manager_linux.go b/client/firewall/iptables/manager_linux.go
index a1d4467d5..7d8cd7f8c 100644
--- a/client/firewall/iptables/manager_linux.go
+++ b/client/firewall/iptables/manager_linux.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 
 	nberrors "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/errors"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/firewalld"
 	firewall "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/manager"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/iface/wgaddr"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/statemanager"
@@ -86,6 +87,12 @@ func (m *Manager) Init(stateManager *statemanager.Manager) error {
 		log.Warnf("raw table not available, notrack rules will be disabled: %v", err)
 	}
 
+	// Trust after all fatal init steps so a later failure doesn't leave the
+	// interface in firewalld's trusted zone without a corresponding Close.
+	if err := firewalld.TrustInterface(m.wgIface.Name()); err != nil {
+		log.Warnf("failed to trust interface in firewalld: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	// persist early to ensure cleanup of chains
 	go func() {
 		if err := stateManager.PersistState(context.Background()); err != nil {
@@ -191,6 +198,12 @@ func (m *Manager) Close(stateManager *statemanager.Manager) error {
 		merr = multierror.Append(merr, fmt.Errorf("reset router: %w", err))
 	}
 
+	// Appending to merr intentionally blocks DeleteState below so ShutdownState
+	// stays persisted and the crash-recovery path retries firewalld cleanup.
+	if err := firewalld.UntrustInterface(m.wgIface.Name()); err != nil {
+		merr = multierror.Append(merr, err)
+	}
+
 	// attempt to delete state only if all other operations succeeded
 	if merr == nil {
 		if err := stateManager.DeleteState(&ShutdownState{}); err != nil {
@@ -217,6 +230,11 @@ func (m *Manager) AllowNetbird() error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("allow netbird interface traffic: %w", err)
 	}
+
+	if err := firewalld.TrustInterface(m.wgIface.Name()); err != nil {
+		log.Warnf("failed to trust interface in firewalld: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/client/firewall/nftables/manager_linux.go b/client/firewall/nftables/manager_linux.go
index 0b5b61e04..8cd5cc6b3 100644
--- a/client/firewall/nftables/manager_linux.go
+++ b/client/firewall/nftables/manager_linux.go
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/firewalld"
 	firewall "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/manager"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/iface/wgaddr"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/statemanager"
@@ -217,6 +218,10 @@ func (m *Manager) AllowNetbird() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("flush allow input netbird rules: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	if err := firewalld.TrustInterface(m.wgIface.Name()); err != nil {
+		log.Warnf("failed to trust interface in firewalld: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }
 
diff --git a/client/firewall/nftables/router_linux.go b/client/firewall/nftables/router_linux.go
index 904daf7cb..8cc0d2792 100644
--- a/client/firewall/nftables/router_linux.go
+++ b/client/firewall/nftables/router_linux.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 
 	nberrors "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/errors"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/firewalld"
 	firewall "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/manager"
 	nbid "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/acl/id"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/routemanager/ipfwdstate"
@@ -40,6 +41,8 @@ const (
 	chainNameForward       = "FORWARD"
 	chainNameMangleForward = "netbird-mangle-forward"
 
+	firewalldTableName = "firewalld"
+
 	userDataAcceptForwardRuleIif = "frwacceptiif"
 	userDataAcceptForwardRuleOif = "frwacceptoif"
 	userDataAcceptInputRule      = "inputaccept"
@@ -133,6 +136,10 @@ func (r *router) Reset() error {
 		merr = multierror.Append(merr, fmt.Errorf("remove accept filter rules: %w", err))
 	}
 
+	if err := firewalld.UntrustInterface(r.wgIface.Name()); err != nil {
+		merr = multierror.Append(merr, err)
+	}
+
 	if err := r.removeNatPreroutingRules(); err != nil {
 		merr = multierror.Append(merr, fmt.Errorf("remove filter prerouting rules: %w", err))
 	}
@@ -280,6 +287,10 @@ func (r *router) createContainers() error {
 		log.Errorf("failed to add accept rules for the forward chain: %s", err)
 	}
 
+	if err := firewalld.TrustInterface(r.wgIface.Name()); err != nil {
+		log.Warnf("failed to trust interface in firewalld: %v", err)
+	}
+
 	if err := r.refreshRulesMap(); err != nil {
 		log.Errorf("failed to refresh rules: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -1319,6 +1330,13 @@ func (r *router) isExternalChain(chain *nftables.Chain) bool {
 		return false
 	}
 
+	// Skip firewalld-owned chains. Firewalld creates its chains with the
+	// NFT_CHAIN_OWNER flag, so inserting rules into them returns EPERM.
+	// We delegate acceptance to firewalld by trusting the interface instead.
+	if chain.Table.Name == firewalldTableName {
+		return false
+	}
+
 	// Skip all iptables-managed tables in the ip family
 	if chain.Table.Family == nftables.TableFamilyIPv4 && isIptablesTable(chain.Table.Name) {
 		return false
diff --git a/client/firewall/uspfilter/allow_netbird.go b/client/firewall/uspfilter/allow_netbird.go
index 6a6533344..b120cdf12 100644
--- a/client/firewall/uspfilter/allow_netbird.go
+++ b/client/firewall/uspfilter/allow_netbird.go
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 package uspfilter
 
 import (
+	log "github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/firewalld"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/internal/statemanager"
 )
 
@@ -16,6 +19,9 @@ func (m *Manager) Close(stateManager *statemanager.Manager) error {
 	if m.nativeFirewall != nil {
 		return m.nativeFirewall.Close(stateManager)
 	}
+	if err := firewalld.UntrustInterface(m.wgIface.Name()); err != nil {
+		log.Warnf("failed to untrust interface in firewalld: %v", err)
+	}
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -24,5 +30,8 @@ func (m *Manager) AllowNetbird() error {
 	if m.nativeFirewall != nil {
 		return m.nativeFirewall.AllowNetbird()
 	}
+	if err := firewalld.TrustInterface(m.wgIface.Name()); err != nil {
+		log.Warnf("failed to trust interface in firewalld: %v", err)
+	}
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/client/firewall/uspfilter/common/iface.go b/client/firewall/uspfilter/common/iface.go
index 7296953db..9c06eb3f7 100644
--- a/client/firewall/uspfilter/common/iface.go
+++ b/client/firewall/uspfilter/common/iface.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 
 // IFaceMapper defines subset methods of interface required for manager
 type IFaceMapper interface {
+	Name() string
 	SetFilter(device.PacketFilter) error
 	Address() wgaddr.Address
 	GetWGDevice() *wgdevice.Device
diff --git a/client/firewall/uspfilter/filter_test.go b/client/firewall/uspfilter/filter_test.go
index 39e8efa2c..5fb9fef0e 100644
--- a/client/firewall/uspfilter/filter_test.go
+++ b/client/firewall/uspfilter/filter_test.go
@@ -31,12 +31,20 @@ var logger = log.NewFromLogrus(logrus.StandardLogger())
 var flowLogger = netflow.NewManager(nil, []byte{}, nil).GetLogger()
 
 type IFaceMock struct {
+	NameFunc        func() string
 	SetFilterFunc   func(device.PacketFilter) error
 	AddressFunc     func() wgaddr.Address
 	GetWGDeviceFunc func() *wgdevice.Device
 	GetDeviceFunc   func() *device.FilteredDevice
 }
 
+func (i *IFaceMock) Name() string {
+	if i.NameFunc == nil {
+		return "wgtest"
+	}
+	return i.NameFunc()
+}
+
 func (i *IFaceMock) GetWGDevice() *wgdevice.Device {
 	if i.GetWGDeviceFunc == nil {
 		return nil
diff --git a/client/internal/engine.go b/client/internal/engine.go
index be2d8bbf3..276b76bfe 100644
--- a/client/internal/engine.go
+++ b/client/internal/engine.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 
 	nberrors "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/errors"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall"
+	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/firewalld"
 	firewallManager "github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/firewall/manager"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/iface"
 	"github.com/netbirdio/netbird/client/iface/device"
@@ -603,6 +604,8 @@ func (e *Engine) createFirewall() error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	firewalld.SetParentContext(e.ctx)
+
 	var err error
 	e.firewall, err = firewall.NewFirewall(e.wgInterface, e.stateManager, e.flowManager.GetLogger(), e.config.DisableServerRoutes, e.config.MTU)
 	if err != nil {