diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/bootstrap/BootstrapForTesting.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/bootstrap/BootstrapForTesting.java
index 0ef16e7e9f555..d426cf91fe484 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/bootstrap/BootstrapForTesting.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/bootstrap/BootstrapForTesting.java
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ public class BootstrapForTesting {
         IfConfig.logIfNecessary();
 
         // install security manager if available and requested
-        if (RuntimeVersionFeature.isSecurityManagerAvailable() && systemPropertyAsBoolean("tests.security.manager", true)) {
+        if (RuntimeVersionFeature.isSecurityManagerAvailable() && systemPropertyAsBoolean("tests.security.manager", false)) {
             try {
                 // initialize paths the same exact way as bootstrap
                 Permissions perms = new Permissions();