diff --git a/experiments/perception/worker/m49_t1_gseg3d/qualify.sh b/experiments/perception/worker/m49_t1_gseg3d/qualify.sh
index 8019a4f..16a0deb 100644
--- a/experiments/perception/worker/m49_t1_gseg3d/qualify.sh
+++ b/experiments/perception/worker/m49_t1_gseg3d/qualify.sh
@@ -74,8 +74,13 @@ failure_stage=core-upstream-tests
   ctest --test-dir /opt/m49/core-build --output-on-failure
 
 failure_stage=ros2-plugin-tests
+# ROS 2 environment hooks legitimately probe unset variables. Keep strict mode
+# for the qualification itself, but do not let nounset turn a standard setup
+# hook into a false candidate failure.
+set +u
 source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
 source /opt/m49/ros-install/setup.bash
+set -u
 colcon test \
   --build-base /opt/m49/ros-build \
   --install-base /opt/m49/ros-install \