diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yaml b/.github/workflows/main.yaml
index 502645cb..5096abee 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yaml
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ jobs:
       run: DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build -t rootlesskit:test-integration --target test-integration .
     - name: "Integration test: exit-code"
       run: docker run --rm --privileged rootlesskit:test-integration ./integration-exit-code.sh
+    - name: "Integration test: no-new-privs"
+      run: docker run --rm --privileged rootlesskit:test-integration ./integration-no-new-privs.sh
     - name: "Integration test: propagation"
       run: docker run --rm --privileged rootlesskit:test-integration ./integration-propagation.sh
     - name: "Integration test: propagation (with `mount --make-rshared /`)"
diff --git a/hack/integration-no-new-privs.sh b/hack/integration-no-new-privs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..b42bbfdc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack/integration-no-new-privs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Regression test for https://github.com/rootless-containers/rootlesskit/issues/551
+source $(realpath $(dirname $0))/common.inc.sh
+
+# The regular newuidmap/newgidmap are setuid or have file caps, so they cannot work with no_new_privs.
+# Use unprivileged stand-ins that map only the current UID/GID.
+tmp=$(mktemp -d)
+trap "rm -rf ${tmp}" EXIT
+cat >${tmp}/newuidmap <<'EOS'
+#!/bin/sh
+echo "$2 $3 $4" >/proc/$1/uid_map
+EOS
+cat >${tmp}/newgidmap <<'EOS'
+#!/bin/sh
+echo deny >/proc/$1/setgroups
+echo "$2 $3 $4" >/proc/$1/gid_map
+EOS
+chmod +x ${tmp}/newuidmap ${tmp}/newgidmap
+export PATH=${tmp}:${PATH}
+
+function test_no_new_privs() {
+	args="$@"
+	INFO "Testing no_new_privs for args=${args}"
+	# Without the fix, rootlesskit hangs, so use timeout.
+	out=$(setpriv --no-new-privs timeout 30 $ROOTLESSKIT $args sh -ec 'echo "uid=$(id -u)"; grep -E "^(NoNewPrivs|CapEff|CapAmb):" /proc/self/status')
+	echo "${out}"
+	for expected in "uid=0" "NoNewPrivs:.1" "CapEff:.[0-9a-f]*[1-9a-f][0-9a-f]*$" "CapAmb:.0*$"; do
+		if ! echo "${out}" | grep -qE "${expected}"; then
+			ERROR "expected to match ${expected}"
+			exit 1
+		fi
+	done
+}
+
+test_no_new_privs --pidns=false
+test_no_new_privs --pidns=true
diff --git a/pkg/child/child.go b/pkg/child/child.go
index eefc9ea9..2542157b 100644
--- a/pkg/child/child.go
+++ b/pkg/child/child.go
@@ -314,16 +314,40 @@ func hasCaps() (bool, error) {
 	return data.Effective != 0, nil
 }
 
-// gainCaps gains the caps inside the user namespace.
-// The caps are gained on re-execution after the child's uid_map and gid_map are fully written.
-func gainCaps() error {
-	pid := os.Getpid()
+// dropInheritableAndAmbientCaps prevents the ambient caps (set by the parent) from leaking to the workload.
+func dropInheritableAndAmbientCaps() error {
+	// EINVAL means that the kernel does not support ambient caps (added in Linux 4.3)
+	if err := unix.Prctl(unix.PR_CAP_AMBIENT, unix.PR_CAP_AMBIENT_CLEAR_ALL, 0, 0, 0); err != nil && err != unix.EINVAL {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to clear the ambient caps: %w", err)
+	}
+	hdr := unix.CapUserHeader{
+		Version: unix.LINUX_CAPABILITY_VERSION_3,
+	}
+	var data [2]unix.CapUserData
+	if err := unix.Capget(&hdr, &data[0]); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to get the current caps: %w", err)
+	}
+	data[0].Inheritable, data[1].Inheritable = 0, 0
+	if err := unix.Capset(&hdr, &data[0]); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to clear the inheritable caps: %w", err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func reexecCountEnvName(pid int) string {
 	pidns, err := statPIDNS(pid)
 	if err != nil {
 		logrus.WithError(err).Debug("Failed to stat pidns (negligible when unsharing pidns)")
 		pidns = 0
 	}
-	envName := fmt.Sprintf("_ROOTLESSKIT_REEXEC_COUNT_%d_%d", pidns, pid)
+	return fmt.Sprintf("_ROOTLESSKIT_REEXEC_COUNT_%d_%d", pidns, pid)
+}
+
+// gainCaps gains the caps inside the user namespace.
+// The caps are gained on re-execution after the child's uid_map and gid_map are fully written.
+func gainCaps() error {
+	pid := os.Getpid()
+	envName := reexecCountEnvName(pid)
 	logrus.Debugf("Re-executing the RootlessKit child process (PID=%d) to gain the caps", pid)
 
 	var envValueInt int
@@ -378,9 +402,11 @@ func Child(opt Opt) error {
 		msg *messages.Message
 		err error
 	)
-	if ok, err := hasCaps(); err != nil {
-		return err
-	} else if !ok {
+	// The parent starts the child with ambient caps, so the child usually has the caps
+	// already, even when no_new_privs is set. Otherwise the caps are gained by re-execution.
+	// A re-executed child has already completed the handshake below.
+	reexecEnvName := reexecCountEnvName(os.Getpid())
+	if os.Getenv(reexecEnvName) == "" {
 		_, err = messages.WaitFor(pipeR, messages.Name(messages.ParentHello{}))
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -399,11 +425,17 @@ func Child(opt Opt) error {
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-
+	}
+	if ok, err := hasCaps(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	} else if !ok {
 		// gainCaps re-executes the process on success and only returns on failure,
 		// so reaching here always means an error.
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to gain the caps inside the user namespace: %w", gainCaps())
 	}
+	if err := dropInheritableAndAmbientCaps(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
 	if opt.MountProcfs {
 		if err := mountProcfs(); err != nil {
diff --git a/pkg/parent/parent.go b/pkg/parent/parent.go
index 8fa96251..8ae475e7 100644
--- a/pkg/parent/parent.go
+++ b/pkg/parent/parent.go
@@ -177,6 +177,9 @@ func Parent(opt Opt) error {
 	cmd.SysProcAttr = &syscall.SysProcAttr{
 		Pdeathsig:  syscall.SIGKILL,
 		Cloneflags: syscall.CLONE_NEWUSER | syscall.CLONE_NEWNS,
+		// The child keeps the caps across exec, even when no_new_privs is set
+		// (where the child cannot gain the caps by re-execution after uid_map is written).
+		AmbientCaps: allCaps(),
 	}
 
 	if opt.NetworkDriver != nil {
@@ -545,3 +548,22 @@ func InitStateDir(stateDir string) error {
 	}
 	return nil
 }
+
+// allCaps returns all the capabilities supported by the kernel,
+// or nil if the kernel does not support ambient caps (added in Linux 4.3).
+func allCaps() []uintptr {
+	if _, err := unix.PrctlRetInt(unix.PR_CAP_AMBIENT, unix.PR_CAP_AMBIENT_IS_SET, 0, 0, 0); err == unix.EINVAL {
+		return nil
+	}
+	last := unix.CAP_LAST_CAP
+	if b, err := os.ReadFile("/proc/sys/kernel/cap_last_cap"); err == nil {
+		if n, err := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(string(b))); err == nil {
+			last = n
+		}
+	}
+	caps := make([]uintptr, 0, last+1)
+	for i := 0; i <= last; i++ {
+		caps = append(caps, uintptr(i))
+	}
+	return caps
+}