diff --git a/meta/conf/bitbake.conf b/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
index 8b607088c6..6b1bfaf64e 100644
--- a/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
+++ b/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
@@ -532,6 +532,9 @@ HOSTTOOLS += "${@'ip ping ps scp ssh stty' if (bb.utils.contains_any('IMAGE_CLAS
 # Used by archiver.bbclass when compression is xz
 HOSTTOOLS += "${@'xz' if (('archiver.bbclass' in (d.getVar('BBINCLUDED') or '')) and (d.getVarFlag('ARCHIVER_MODE', 'compression') == 'xz')) else ''}"
 
+# Native build of systemd tools requires getent utility
+HOSTTOOLS += "${@bb.utils.contains('DISTRO_FEATURES', 'systemd', 'getent', '', d)}"
+
 # Link to these if present
 HOSTTOOLS_NONFATAL += "aws gcc-ar gpg gpg-agent ld.bfd ld.gold nc pigz sftp socat ssh sudo"