diff --git a/drivers/infiniband/core/nldev.c b/drivers/infiniband/core/nldev.c
index 88c68d77e6b1..a19e2104ffe9 100644
--- a/drivers/infiniband/core/nldev.c
+++ b/drivers/infiniband/core/nldev.c
@@ -2080,6 +2080,7 @@ static const struct rdma_nl_cbs nldev_cb_table[RDMA_NLDEV_NUM_OPS] = {
 	},
 	[RDMA_NLDEV_CMD_SYS_SET] = {
 		.doit = nldev_set_sys_set_doit,
+		.flags = RDMA_NL_ADMIN_PERM,
 	},
 	[RDMA_NLDEV_CMD_STAT_SET] = {
 		.doit = nldev_stat_set_doit,