diff --git a/pingora-core/src/connectors/tls/boringssl_openssl/mod.rs b/pingora-core/src/connectors/tls/boringssl_openssl/mod.rs
index 9bb3a5a6..7be69dbf 100644
--- a/pingora-core/src/connectors/tls/boringssl_openssl/mod.rs
+++ b/pingora-core/src/connectors/tls/boringssl_openssl/mod.rs
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ use crate::tls::ext::{
 use crate::tls::ssl::SslCurve;
 use crate::tls::ssl::{SslConnector, SslFiletype, SslMethod, SslVerifyMode, SslVersion};
 use crate::tls::x509::store::X509StoreBuilder;
+use crate::tls::x509::verify::X509VerifyFlags;
 use crate::upstreams::peer::{Peer, ALPN};
 
 pub type TlsConnector = SslConnector;
@@ -210,6 +211,12 @@ where
         consistent with nginx's behavior */
         ssl_conf.set_verify(SslVerifyMode::NONE);
     } else if peer.verify_cert() {
+        if peer.verify_cert_partial_chain() {
+            ssl_conf
+                .param_mut()
+                .set_flags(X509VerifyFlags::PARTIAL_CHAIN)
+                .or_err(InternalError, "failed to set verify flags")?;
+        }
         if peer.verify_hostname() {
             let verify_param = ssl_conf.param_mut();
             add_host(verify_param, peer.sni()).or_err(InternalError, "failed to add host")?;
diff --git a/pingora-core/src/upstreams/peer.rs b/pingora-core/src/upstreams/peer.rs
index 78c6dbcc..a99995d4 100644
--- a/pingora-core/src/upstreams/peer.rs
+++ b/pingora-core/src/upstreams/peer.rs
@@ -127,6 +127,14 @@ pub trait Peer: Display + Clone {
             None => false,
         }
     }
+    /// Whether certificate verification should accept chains anchored at an intermediate CA in
+    /// the configured trust store.
+    fn verify_cert_partial_chain(&self) -> bool {
+        match self.get_peer_options() {
+            Some(opt) => opt.verify_cert_partial_chain,
+            None => false,
+        }
+    }
     /// Whether the system trust store should be loaded and used when verifying certificates
     #[cfg(feature = "s2n")]
     fn use_system_certs(&self) -> bool {
@@ -415,6 +423,8 @@ pub struct PeerOptions {
     pub write_timeout: Option<Duration>,
     pub verify_cert: bool,
     pub verify_hostname: bool,
+    /// Accept chains that terminate at an intermediate CA present in the trust store.
+    pub verify_cert_partial_chain: bool,
     #[cfg(feature = "s2n")]
     pub use_system_certs: bool,
     /* accept the cert if it's CN matches the SNI or this name */
@@ -484,6 +494,7 @@ impl PeerOptions {
             write_timeout: None,
             verify_cert: true,
             verify_hostname: true,
+            verify_cert_partial_chain: false,
             #[cfg(feature = "s2n")]
             use_system_certs: true,
             alternative_cn: None,
@@ -539,6 +550,9 @@ impl Display for PeerOptions {
         if self.verify_hostname {
             write!(f, "verify_hostname: true,")?;
         }
+        if self.verify_cert_partial_chain {
+            write!(f, "verify_cert_partial_chain: true,")?;
+        }
         #[cfg(feature = "s2n")]
         if self.use_system_certs {
             write!(f, "use_system_certs: true,")?;
@@ -687,6 +701,7 @@ impl Hash for HttpPeer {
         // origin server cert verification
         self.verify_cert().hash(state);
         self.verify_hostname().hash(state);
+        self.verify_cert_partial_chain().hash(state);
         self.alternative_cn().hash(state);
         #[cfg(feature = "s2n")]
         self.get_psk().hash(state);