diff --git a/modules/data-streams/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/datastreams/action/TransportGetDataStreamsActionTests.java b/modules/data-streams/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/datastreams/action/TransportGetDataStreamsActionTests.java
index bd244ff9638ff..ba333e09d2859 100644
--- a/modules/data-streams/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/datastreams/action/TransportGetDataStreamsActionTests.java
+++ b/modules/data-streams/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/datastreams/action/TransportGetDataStreamsActionTests.java
@@ -490,20 +490,7 @@ public void testProvidersAffectMode() {
             ClusterSettings.createBuiltInClusterSettings(),
             dataStreamGlobalRetentionSettings,
             emptyDataStreamFailureStoreSettings,
-            new IndexSettingProviders(
-                Set.of(
-                    (
-                        indexName,
-                        dataStreamName,
-                        templateIndexMode,
-                        metadata,
-                        resolvedAt,
-                        indexTemplateAndCreateRequestSettings,
-                        combinedTemplateMappings,
-                        additionalSettings,
-                        additionalCustomMetadata) -> additionalSettings.put("index.mode", IndexMode.LOOKUP)
-                )
-            ),
+            IndexSettingProviders.of((additionalSettings) -> additionalSettings.put("index.mode", IndexMode.LOOKUP)),
             null
         );
         assertThat(response.getDataStreams().getFirst().getIndexModeName(), equalTo("lookup"));
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/create/CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/create/CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest.java
index e8bd38b01414f..2bc51b252386c 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/create/CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/create/CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest.java
@@ -52,6 +52,8 @@ public class CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest {
 
     private ComposableIndexTemplate matchingTemplate;
 
+    private boolean settingsSystemProvided = false;
+
     /**
      * @deprecated project id ought always be specified
      */
@@ -223,6 +225,19 @@ public CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest setMatchingTemplate(ComposableIndexT
         return this;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Indicates whether the {@link #settings} of this request are system provided.
+     * If this is true, private settings will be allowed to be set in the request.
+     */
+    public CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest settingsSystemProvided(boolean settingsSystemProvided) {
+        this.settingsSystemProvided = settingsSystemProvided;
+        return this;
+    }
+
+    public boolean settingsSystemProvided() {
+        return settingsSystemProvided;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public String toString() {
         return "CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest{"
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataCreateIndexService.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataCreateIndexService.java
index cdb43e865cae4..134093b5175b5 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataCreateIndexService.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataCreateIndexService.java
@@ -1607,12 +1607,12 @@ private static void validateActiveShardCount(ActiveShardCount waitForActiveShard
 
     private void validate(CreateIndexClusterStateUpdateRequest request, ProjectMetadata projectMetadata, RoutingTable routingTable) {
         validateIndexName(request.index(), projectMetadata, routingTable);
-        validateIndexSettings(request.index(), request.settings(), forbidPrivateIndexSettings);
+        validateIndexSettings(request.index(), request.settings(), forbidPrivateIndexSettings && request.settingsSystemProvided() == false);
     }
 
     public void validateIndexSettings(String indexName, final Settings settings, final boolean forbidPrivateIndexSettings)
         throws IndexCreationException {
-        List<String> validationErrors = getIndexSettingsValidationErrors(settings, forbidPrivateIndexSettings);
+        List<String> validationErrors = getIndexSettingsValidationErrors(settings, null, forbidPrivateIndexSettings);
 
         if (validationErrors.isEmpty() == false) {
             ValidationException validationException = new ValidationException();
@@ -1621,23 +1621,34 @@ public void validateIndexSettings(String indexName, final Settings settings, fin
         }
     }
 
-    List<String> getIndexSettingsValidationErrors(final Settings settings, final boolean forbidPrivateIndexSettings) {
+    List<String> getIndexSettingsValidationErrors(
+        final Settings settings,
+        @Nullable Settings systemProvided,
+        final boolean forbidPrivateIndexSettings
+    ) {
         List<String> validationErrors = validateIndexCustomPath(settings, env.sharedDataDir());
         if (forbidPrivateIndexSettings) {
-            validationErrors.addAll(validatePrivateSettingsNotExplicitlySet(settings, indexScopedSettings));
+            validationErrors.addAll(validatePrivateSettingsNotExplicitlySet(settings, systemProvided, indexScopedSettings));
         }
         return validationErrors;
     }
 
-    private static List<String> validatePrivateSettingsNotExplicitlySet(Settings settings, IndexScopedSettings indexScopedSettings) {
+    private static List<String> validatePrivateSettingsNotExplicitlySet(
+        Settings settings,
+        @Nullable Settings systemProvided,
+        IndexScopedSettings indexScopedSettings
+    ) {
         List<String> validationErrors = new ArrayList<>();
         for (final String key : settings.keySet()) {
             final Setting<?> setting = indexScopedSettings.get(key);
             if (setting == null) {
                 assert indexScopedSettings.isPrivateSetting(key) : "expected [" + key + "] to be private but it was not";
-            } else if (setting.isPrivateIndex()) {
-                validationErrors.add("private index setting [" + key + "] can not be set explicitly");
-            }
+            } else if (setting.isPrivateIndex()
+                // System-provided settings are always allowed to configure private settings.
+                // These are typically coming from an IndexSettingProvider.
+                && (systemProvided == null || settings.get(key).equals(systemProvided.get(key)) == false)) {
+                    validationErrors.add("private index setting [" + key + "] can not be set explicitly");
+                }
         }
         return validationErrors;
     }
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataIndexTemplateService.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataIndexTemplateService.java
index a3dbd34605c18..08b1773fa2c17 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataIndexTemplateService.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataIndexTemplateService.java
@@ -788,8 +788,7 @@ void validateIndexTemplateV2(ProjectMetadata projectMetadata, String name, Compo
 
         final var combinedMappings = collectMappings(indexTemplate, projectMetadata.componentTemplates(), "tmp_idx");
         final var combinedSettings = resolveSettings(indexTemplate, projectMetadata.componentTemplates());
-        // First apply settings sourced from index setting providers:
-        var finalSettings = Settings.builder();
+        var additionalSettingsBuilder = Settings.builder();
         ImmutableOpenMap.Builder<String, Map<String, String>> customMetadataBuilder = ImmutableOpenMap.builder();
         for (var provider : indexSettingProviders) {
             Settings.Builder builder = Settings.builder();
@@ -805,9 +804,13 @@ void validateIndexTemplateV2(ProjectMetadata projectMetadata, String name, Compo
                 customMetadataBuilder::put
             );
             var newAdditionalSettings = builder.build();
-            MetadataCreateIndexService.validateAdditionalSettings(provider, newAdditionalSettings, finalSettings);
-            finalSettings.put(newAdditionalSettings);
+            MetadataCreateIndexService.validateAdditionalSettings(provider, newAdditionalSettings, additionalSettingsBuilder);
+            additionalSettingsBuilder.put(newAdditionalSettings);
         }
+        Settings additionalSettings = additionalSettingsBuilder.build();
+        var finalSettings = Settings.builder();
+        // First apply settings sourced from index setting providers:
+        finalSettings.put(additionalSettings);
         // Then apply setting from component templates:
         finalSettings.put(combinedSettings);
         // Then finally apply settings resolved from index template:
@@ -817,7 +820,7 @@ void validateIndexTemplateV2(ProjectMetadata projectMetadata, String name, Compo
 
         var templateToValidate = indexTemplate.toBuilder().template(Template.builder(finalTemplate).settings(finalSettings)).build();
 
-        validate(name, templateToValidate);
+        validate(name, templateToValidate, additionalSettings);
         validateDataStreamsStillReferenced(projectMetadata, name, templateToValidate);
         validateLifecycle(projectMetadata, name, templateToValidate, globalRetentionSettings.get(false));
         validateDataStreamOptions(projectMetadata, name, templateToValidate, globalRetentionSettings.get(true));
@@ -2057,18 +2060,19 @@ public static void validateTemplate(Settings validateSettings, CompressedXConten
     }
 
     public void validate(String name, ComponentTemplate template) {
-        validate(name, template.template(), Collections.emptyList());
+        validate(name, template.template(), Collections.emptyList(), null);
     }
 
-    private void validate(String name, ComposableIndexTemplate template) {
-        validate(name, template.template(), template.indexPatterns());
+    private void validate(String name, ComposableIndexTemplate template, @Nullable Settings systemProvided) {
+        validate(name, template.template(), template.indexPatterns(), systemProvided);
     }
 
-    private void validate(String name, Template template, List<String> indexPatterns) {
+    private void validate(String name, Template template, List<String> indexPatterns, @Nullable Settings systemProvided) {
         Optional<Template> maybeTemplate = Optional.ofNullable(template);
         validate(
             name,
             maybeTemplate.map(Template::settings).orElse(Settings.EMPTY),
+            systemProvided,
             indexPatterns,
             maybeTemplate.map(Template::aliases).orElse(emptyMap()).values().stream().map(MetadataIndexTemplateService::toAlias).toList()
         );
@@ -2087,10 +2091,16 @@ private static Alias toAlias(AliasMetadata aliasMeta) {
     }
 
     private void validate(PutRequest putRequest) {
-        validate(putRequest.name, putRequest.settings, putRequest.indexPatterns, putRequest.aliases);
+        validate(putRequest.name, putRequest.settings, null, putRequest.indexPatterns, putRequest.aliases);
     }
 
-    private void validate(String name, @Nullable Settings settings, List<String> indexPatterns, List<Alias> aliases) {
+    private void validate(
+        String name,
+        @Nullable Settings settings,
+        @Nullable Settings systemProvided,
+        List<String> indexPatterns,
+        List<Alias> aliases
+    ) {
         List<String> validationErrors = new ArrayList<>();
         if (name.contains(" ")) {
             validationErrors.add("name must not contain a space");
@@ -2143,7 +2153,11 @@ private void validate(String name, @Nullable Settings settings, List<String> ind
                     validationErrors.add(t.getMessage());
                 }
             }
-            List<String> indexSettingsValidation = metadataCreateIndexService.getIndexSettingsValidationErrors(settings, true);
+            List<String> indexSettingsValidation = metadataCreateIndexService.getIndexSettingsValidationErrors(
+                settings,
+                systemProvided,
+                true
+            );
             validationErrors.addAll(indexSettingsValidation);
         }
 
diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/IndexSettingProviders.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/IndexSettingProviders.java
index 6d2416418440b..062bb391bca9b 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/IndexSettingProviders.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/IndexSettingProviders.java
@@ -9,8 +9,11 @@
 
 package org.elasticsearch.index;
 
+import org.elasticsearch.common.settings.Settings;
+
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.function.Consumer;
 
 /**
  * Keeps track of the {@link IndexSettingProvider} instances defined by plugins and
@@ -22,6 +25,31 @@ public final class IndexSettingProviders {
 
     private final Set<IndexSettingProvider> indexSettingProviders;
 
+    /**
+     * Utility method which creates an {@link IndexSettingProviders} instance that uses the provided consumer to add settings
+     * to the index being created.
+     * The primary use case is for tests that want to add specific settings without having to create a full implementation.
+     *
+     * @param settingsBuilderConsumer A consumer that adds index settings
+     * @return An {@link IndexSettingProviders} instance that uses the provided consumer to add settings
+     */
+    public static IndexSettingProviders of(Consumer<Settings.Builder> settingsBuilderConsumer) {
+        return new IndexSettingProviders(
+            Set.of(
+                (
+                    indexName,
+                    dataStreamName,
+                    templateIndexMode,
+                    projectMetadata,
+                    resolvedAt,
+                    indexTemplateAndCreateRequestSettings,
+                    combinedTemplateMappings,
+                    additionalSettings,
+                    additionalCustomMetadata) -> settingsBuilderConsumer.accept(additionalSettings)
+            )
+        );
+    }
+
     public IndexSettingProviders(Set<IndexSettingProvider> indexSettingProviders) {
         this.indexSettingProviders = Collections.unmodifiableSet(indexSettingProviders);
     }
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataCreateIndexServiceTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataCreateIndexServiceTests.java
index 9195f25dd1a93..1ba4272f7b2cb 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataCreateIndexServiceTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataCreateIndexServiceTests.java
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.index.shard.IndexLongFieldRange;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.EmptySystemIndices;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.IndexCreationException;
+import org.elasticsearch.indices.IndicesService;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.InvalidAliasNameException;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.InvalidIndexNameException;
 import org.elasticsearch.indices.ShardLimitValidator;
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@
 import org.elasticsearch.xcontent.XContentFactory;
 import org.hamcrest.Matchers;
 import org.junit.Before;
+import org.mockito.ArgumentCaptor;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.time.Instant;
@@ -128,6 +130,9 @@
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.notNullValue;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.nullValue;
 import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.startsWith;
+import static org.mockito.ArgumentMatchers.any;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.mock;
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.verify;
 
 public class MetadataCreateIndexServiceTests extends ESTestCase {
 
@@ -1739,6 +1744,81 @@ public void testCreateClusterBlocksTransformerForIndexCreation() {
         );
     }
 
+    public void testSetPrivateSettings() throws Exception {
+        request.settings(Settings.builder().put(IndexMetadata.INDEX_DOWNSAMPLE_SOURCE_UUID.getKey(), "private_setting").build());
+        boolean settingsSystemProvided = randomBoolean();
+        request.settingsSystemProvided(settingsSystemProvided);
+
+        IndicesService indicesService = mock(IndicesService.class);
+        withTemporaryClusterService(((clusterService, threadPool) -> {
+            MetadataCreateIndexService service = new MetadataCreateIndexService(
+                Settings.EMPTY,
+                clusterService,
+                indicesService,
+                null,
+                createTestShardLimitService(randomIntBetween(1, 1000), clusterService),
+                newEnvironment(),
+                new IndexScopedSettings(Settings.EMPTY, IndexScopedSettings.BUILT_IN_INDEX_SETTINGS),
+                threadPool,
+                null,
+                EmptySystemIndices.INSTANCE,
+                true,
+                IndexSettingProviders.EMPTY
+            );
+
+            try {
+                service.applyCreateIndexRequest(clusterService.state(), request, false, ActionListener.wrap(r -> {}, e -> {}));
+                if (settingsSystemProvided == false) {
+                    fail("expected private setting to be rejected");
+                }
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                if (settingsSystemProvided) {
+                    fail(e, "did not expect private setting to be rejected when system provided");
+                }
+            }
+        }));
+
+        if (settingsSystemProvided) {
+            ArgumentCaptor<IndexMetadata> captor = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(IndexMetadata.class);
+            verify(indicesService).withTempIndexService(captor.capture(), any());
+            IndexMetadata indexMetadata = captor.getValue();
+            assertThat(indexMetadata.getSettings().get(IndexMetadata.INDEX_DOWNSAMPLE_SOURCE_UUID.getKey()), equalTo("private_setting"));
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void testIndexSettingProviderPrivateSetting() throws Exception {
+        IndicesService indicesService = mock(IndicesService.class);
+        withTemporaryClusterService(((clusterService, threadPool) -> {
+            MetadataCreateIndexService service = new MetadataCreateIndexService(
+                Settings.EMPTY,
+                clusterService,
+                indicesService,
+                null,
+                createTestShardLimitService(randomIntBetween(1, 1000), clusterService),
+                newEnvironment(),
+                new IndexScopedSettings(Settings.EMPTY, IndexScopedSettings.BUILT_IN_INDEX_SETTINGS),
+                threadPool,
+                null,
+                EmptySystemIndices.INSTANCE,
+                true,
+                IndexSettingProviders.of(
+                    (additionalSettings) -> additionalSettings.put(IndexMetadata.INDEX_DOWNSAMPLE_SOURCE_NAME.getKey(), "private_setting")
+                )
+            );
+
+            try {
+                service.applyCreateIndexRequest(clusterService.state(), request, false, ActionListener.wrap(r -> {}, e -> {}));
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                fail(e, "did not expect private setting to be rejected when added via IndexSettingProvider");
+            }
+        }));
+
+        ArgumentCaptor<IndexMetadata> captor = ArgumentCaptor.forClass(IndexMetadata.class);
+        verify(indicesService).withTempIndexService(captor.capture(), any());
+        IndexMetadata indexMetadata = captor.getValue();
+        assertThat(indexMetadata.getSettings().get(IndexMetadata.INDEX_DOWNSAMPLE_SOURCE_NAME.getKey()), equalTo("private_setting"));
+    }
+
     private IndexTemplateMetadata addMatchingTemplate(Consumer<IndexTemplateMetadata.Builder> configurator) {
         IndexTemplateMetadata.Builder builder = templateMetadataBuilder("template1", "te*");
         configurator.accept(builder);
@@ -1776,7 +1856,7 @@ private ShardLimitValidator randomShardLimitService() {
 
     private void withTemporaryClusterService(BiConsumer<ClusterService, ThreadPool> consumer) {
         final ThreadPool threadPool = new TestThreadPool(getTestName());
-        final ClusterService clusterService = ClusterServiceUtils.createClusterService(threadPool);
+        final ClusterService clusterService = ClusterServiceUtils.createClusterService(threadPool, projectId);
         try {
             consumer.accept(clusterService, threadPool);
         } finally {
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataIndexTemplateServiceTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataIndexTemplateServiceTests.java
index 50d868dd9c35b..8428bd0fb57ee 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataIndexTemplateServiceTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetadataIndexTemplateServiceTests.java
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 
@@ -2928,6 +2929,51 @@ public void testIndexTemplateUpdateChangesModifiedDate() throws Exception {
         assertThat(newTemplate.modifiedDateMillis().orElseThrow(), is(2L));
     }
 
+    public void testPrivateSettingFromIndexSettingsProviderSucceeds() {
+        AtomicBoolean invoked = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+        MetadataIndexTemplateService service = getMetadataIndexTemplateService(IndexSettingProviders.of((additionalSettings) -> {
+            additionalSettings.put(IndexMetadata.INDEX_DOWNSAMPLE_SOURCE_NAME.getKey(), "private_setting");
+            invoked.set(true);
+        }));
+        ComposableIndexTemplate template = ComposableIndexTemplate.builder()
+            .indexPatterns(List.of("foo-*"))
+            .priority(1L)
+            .dataStreamTemplate(new ComposableIndexTemplate.DataStreamTemplate(randomBoolean(), randomBoolean()))
+            .build();
+        service.validateIndexTemplateV2(emptyProject(), "template", template);
+        assertTrue(invoked.get());
+    }
+
+    public void testPrivateSettingFromTemplateFails() {
+        AtomicBoolean invoked = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+        MetadataIndexTemplateService service = getMetadataIndexTemplateService(IndexSettingProviders.of((additionalSettings) -> {
+            // just because the provider adds the setting, user-provided settings in the template should still cause a failure
+            additionalSettings.put(IndexMetadata.INDEX_DOWNSAMPLE_SOURCE_NAME.getKey(), "private_setting_from_provider");
+            invoked.set(true);
+        }));
+        ComposableIndexTemplate template = ComposableIndexTemplate.builder()
+            .indexPatterns(List.of("foo-*"))
+            .priority(1L)
+            .dataStreamTemplate(new ComposableIndexTemplate.DataStreamTemplate(randomBoolean(), randomBoolean()))
+            .template(
+                new Template(
+                    Settings.builder().put(IndexMetadata.INDEX_DOWNSAMPLE_SOURCE_NAME.getKey(), "private_setting_from_template").build(),
+                    null,
+                    null
+                )
+            )
+            .build();
+        InvalidIndexTemplateException exception = assertThrows(
+            InvalidIndexTemplateException.class,
+            () -> service.validateIndexTemplateV2(emptyProject(), "template", template)
+        );
+        assertThat(
+            exception.getMessage(),
+            containsString("private index setting [index.downsample.source.name] can not be set explicitly")
+        );
+        assertTrue(invoked.get());
+    }
+
     private static List<Throwable> putTemplate(NamedXContentRegistry xContentRegistry, PutRequest request) {
         ThreadPool testThreadPool = mock(ThreadPool.class);
         when(testThreadPool.getThreadContext()).thenReturn(new ThreadContext(Settings.EMPTY));
@@ -2994,6 +3040,10 @@ public void onFailure(Exception e) {
     }
 
     private MetadataIndexTemplateService getMetadataIndexTemplateService() {
+        return getMetadataIndexTemplateService(new IndexSettingProviders(Set.of()));
+    }
+
+    private MetadataIndexTemplateService getMetadataIndexTemplateService(IndexSettingProviders indexSettingProviders) {
         IndicesService indicesService = getInstanceFromNode(IndicesService.class);
         ClusterService clusterService = getInstanceFromNode(ClusterService.class);
         MetadataCreateIndexService createIndexService = new MetadataCreateIndexService(
@@ -3008,7 +3058,7 @@ private MetadataIndexTemplateService getMetadataIndexTemplateService() {
             xContentRegistry(),
             EmptySystemIndices.INSTANCE,
             true,
-            new IndexSettingProviders(Set.of())
+            indexSettingProviders
         );
         AtomicInteger instantSourceInvocationCounter = new AtomicInteger();
         InstantSource instantSource = () -> Instant.ofEpochMilli(instantSourceInvocationCounter.getAndIncrement());
@@ -3019,7 +3069,7 @@ private MetadataIndexTemplateService getMetadataIndexTemplateService() {
             new IndexScopedSettings(Settings.EMPTY, IndexScopedSettings.BUILT_IN_INDEX_SETTINGS),
             xContentRegistry(),
             EmptySystemIndices.INSTANCE,
-            new IndexSettingProviders(Set.of()),
+            indexSettingProviders,
             DataStreamGlobalRetentionSettings.create(ClusterSettings.createBuiltInClusterSettings()),
             instantSource
         );
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/downsample/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/downsample/TransportDownsampleAction.java b/x-pack/plugin/downsample/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/downsample/TransportDownsampleAction.java
index 8486963a5daee..bb2808299ffa0 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/downsample/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/downsample/TransportDownsampleAction.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/downsample/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/downsample/TransportDownsampleAction.java
@@ -961,7 +961,7 @@ private void createDownsampleIndex(
             projectId,
             downsampleIndexName,
             downsampleIndexName
-        ).settings(builder.build()).mappings(mapping).waitForActiveShards(ActiveShardCount.ONE);
+        ).settings(builder.build()).settingsSystemProvided(true).mappings(mapping).waitForActiveShards(ActiveShardCount.ONE);
         var delegate = new AllocationActionListener<>(listener, threadPool.getThreadContext());
         taskQueue.submitTask("create-downsample-index [" + downsampleIndexName + "]", new DownsampleClusterStateUpdateTask(listener) {
             @Override