diff --git a/libnbd.spec b/libnbd.spec
index cefb235..81d4262 100644
--- a/libnbd.spec
+++ b/libnbd.spec
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@
 %global have_ublk 1
 %endif
 
+# No nbd.ko in RHEL 9.
+%if !0%{?rhel}
+%global have_nbd_ko 1
+%endif
+
 # If we should verify tarball signature with GPGv2.
 %global verify_tarball_signature 1
 
@@ -84,7 +89,7 @@ BuildRequires:  gcc-c++
 BuildRequires:  gnutls-utils
 BuildRequires:  iproute
 BuildRequires:  jq
-%if !0%{?rhel}
+%if 0%{?have_nbd_ko}
 BuildRequires:  nbd
 %endif
 BuildRequires:  util-linux