diff --git a/man/sysupdate.d.xml b/man/sysupdate.d.xml
index 5e8e9d6fe4c..b8c403aa7de 100644
--- a/man/sysupdate.d.xml
+++ b/man/sysupdate.d.xml
@@ -758,6 +758,12 @@
         resources, as well as inline data that is encoded, must consist of the file and nothing else, other
         such sources are ignored.</para>
 
+        <para>The extended attributes in the <literal>user</literal> namespace listed in the
+        <literal>extendedAttributes</literal> field of a file object of a UAPI.16 manifest are applied to the
+        file or directory created when installing it. This is done on a best-effort basis: if the file system
+        does not support extended attributes, or they cannot be set for other reasons, the instance is
+        installed without them.</para>
+
         <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v263"/></listitem>
       </varlistentry>
 
diff --git a/src/shared/forward.h b/src/shared/forward.h
index d8c2c183125..3d9a1c03d6c 100644
--- a/src/shared/forward.h
+++ b/src/shared/forward.h
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ typedef struct Tpm2Handle Tpm2Handle;
 typedef struct Tpm2PCRValue Tpm2PCRValue;
 typedef struct Uapi16Contents Uapi16Contents;
 typedef struct Uapi16Object Uapi16Object;
+typedef struct Uapi16Xattr Uapi16Xattr;
 typedef struct UnitInfo UnitInfo;
 typedef struct UnitResult UnitResult;
 typedef struct UserRecord UserRecord;
diff --git a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-instance.c b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-instance.c
index 7406f47f6d5..ef769bac103 100644
--- a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-instance.c
+++ b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-instance.c
@@ -63,5 +63,7 @@ Instance *instance_free(Instance *i) {
                 uapi16_contents_done(s);
         free(i->sources);
 
+        uapi16_xattr_array_free(i->user_xattrs, i->n_user_xattrs);
+
         return mfree(i);
 }
diff --git a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-instance.h b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-instance.h
index d64ed897959..584937159e4 100644
--- a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-instance.h
+++ b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-instance.h
@@ -53,6 +53,11 @@ struct Instance {
         Uapi16Contents *sources;
         size_t n_sources;
 
+        /* The "user" extended attributes listed in the manifest (for web backed sources), which we apply
+         * to the inode we create when installing the instance */
+        Uapi16Xattr *user_xattrs;
+        size_t n_user_xattrs;
+
         /* The current state of this instance */
         bool is_partial;
         bool is_pending;
diff --git a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-resource.c b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-resource.c
index b076ec35132..4514982c040 100644
--- a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-resource.c
+++ b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-resource.c
@@ -899,6 +899,11 @@ static int uapi16_process_object(Uapi16Object *object, size_t index, void *userd
         instance->n_sources = object->n_contents;
         object->n_contents = 0;
 
+        /* Similar, for the extended attributes to apply when installing */
+        instance->user_xattrs = TAKE_PTR(object->user_xattrs);
+        instance->n_user_xattrs = object->n_user_xattrs;
+        object->n_user_xattrs = 0;
+
         return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-transfer.c b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-transfer.c
index 1b5c2f67801..faa7676f80d 100644
--- a/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-transfer.c
+++ b/src/sysupdate/sysupdate-transfer.c
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
 #include "sysupdate-transfer.h"
 #include "time-util.h"
 #include "web-util.h"
+#include "xattr-util.h"
 
 /* Default value for InstancesMax= for fs object targets */
 #define DEFAULT_FILE_INSTANCES_MAX 3
@@ -1835,6 +1836,54 @@ static int transfer_acquire_source(
                         t, i, cb, userdata);
 }
 
+static int instance_apply_user_xattrs(Instance *i, const char *path) {
+        int r;
+
+        assert(i);
+        assert(path);
+
+        /* Applies the user extended attributes listed in the manifest to the installed inode, so that they
+         * are retained on the target. Failing to do so is not fatal, the instance is fully usable without
+         * them. Returns > 0 if any attribute was applied. */
+
+        if (i->n_user_xattrs == 0)
+                return 0;
+
+        _cleanup_close_ int fd = xopenat(AT_FDCWD, path, O_PATH|O_NOFOLLOW);
+        if (fd < 0) {
+                log_warning_errno(fd, "Failed to open '%s' to apply extended attributes, ignoring: %m", path);
+                return 0;
+        }
+
+        bool applied = false;
+        FOREACH_ARRAY(x, i->user_xattrs, i->n_user_xattrs) {
+                _cleanup_free_ char *n = strjoin("user.", x->name);
+                if (!n)
+                        return log_oom();
+
+                r = xsetxattr_full(
+                                fd,
+                                /* path= */ NULL,
+                                AT_EMPTY_PATH,
+                                n,
+                                x->value.iov_base,
+                                x->value.iov_len,
+                                /* xattr_flags= */ 0);
+                if (ERRNO_IS_NEG_NOT_SUPPORTED(r)) {
+                        log_notice_errno(r, "File system backing '%s' does not support extended attributes, not applying them: %m", path);
+                        break;
+                }
+                if (r < 0) {
+                        log_warning_errno(r, "Failed to set extended attribute '%s' on '%s', ignoring: %m", n, path);
+                        continue;
+                }
+
+                applied = true;
+        }
+
+        return applied;
+}
+
 int transfer_acquire_instance(Transfer *t, Instance *i, InstanceMetadata *f, TransferProgress cb, void *userdata) {
         char offset[DECIMAL_STR_MAX(uint64_t)+1], max_size[DECIMAL_STR_MAX(uint64_t)+1];
         const char *where = NULL;
@@ -2074,6 +2123,12 @@ int transfer_acquire_instance(Transfer *t, Instance *i, InstanceMetadata *f, Tra
                         need_sync = true;
                 }
 
+                r = instance_apply_user_xattrs(i, t->temporary_partial_path);
+                if (r < 0)
+                        return r;
+                if (r > 0)
+                        need_sync = true;
+
                 /* Synchronize */
                 if (t->context->sync && need_sync) {
                         if (t->target.type == RESOURCE_REGULAR_FILE)