diff --git a/src/core/core-varlink.c b/src/core/core-varlink.c
index b22b8fb0c2..9051ab3111 100644
--- a/src/core/core-varlink.c
+++ b/src/core/core-varlink.c
@@ -619,6 +619,9 @@ static int manager_varlink_init_user(Manager *m) {
         if (m->managed_oom_varlink)
                 return 1;
 
+        if (!MANAGER_IS_USER(m))
+                return 0;
+
         if (MANAGER_IS_TEST_RUN(m))
                 return 0;