diff --git a/meta-oe/recipes-support/librice/librice_0.4.3.bb b/meta-oe/recipes-support/librice/librice_0.4.3.bb
index b479bc73f4..926244d780 100644
--- a/meta-oe/recipes-support/librice/librice_0.4.3.bb
+++ b/meta-oe/recipes-support/librice/librice_0.4.3.bb
@@ -15,3 +15,19 @@ require ${PN}-crates.inc
 CARGO_BUILD_FLAGS += " --workspace"

 export LIBCLANG_PATH = "${STAGING_LIBDIR_NATIVE}/libclang.so"
+
+# rice-c/build.rs builds the internal rice-proto C library in-tree (via
+# "cargo cinstall") and then locates it through system-deps + pkg-config.
+# The generated rice-proto.pc carries an absolute prefix pointing at the
+# in-build OUT_DIR (.../rice-c-<hash>/out/rice-proto-cbuild). pkgconf prepends
+# PKG_CONFIG_SYSROOT_DIR (=recipe-sysroot) to that already-absolute prefix,
+# producing a doubled, non-existent include path and making build.rs panic
+# with "Could not find rice-proto.h header". The internal lib is not staged in
+# the sysroot, so no sysroot rewriting must be applied to its .pc file.
+# Clear PKG_CONFIG_SYSROOT_DIR for the build so the internal prefix is used
+# verbatim. openssl-sys is the only other pkg-config consumer here, so feed it
+# the sysroot openssl explicitly (this bypasses its pkg-config probe entirely,
+# see openssl-sys find_normal.rs) to keep it pointed at the target sysroot.
+export PKG_CONFIG_SYSROOT_DIR = ""
+export OPENSSL_LIB_DIR = "${STAGING_LIBDIR}"
+export OPENSSL_INCLUDE_DIR = "${STAGING_INCDIR}"