diff --git a/sdk_container/src/third_party/coreos-overlay/profiles/coreos/base/package.use b/sdk_container/src/third_party/coreos-overlay/profiles/coreos/base/package.use
index 7984f1d946..c80b3d055a 100644
--- a/sdk_container/src/third_party/coreos-overlay/profiles/coreos/base/package.use
+++ b/sdk_container/src/third_party/coreos-overlay/profiles/coreos/base/package.use
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ dev-cpp/glog gflags
 sys-fs/quota rpc
 
 # Don't bother building portage w/xattr, we don't need XATTR_PAX
-sys-apps/portage -xattr
+# Disable rsync-verify to avoid pulling in more deps.
+sys-apps/portage -xattr -rsync-verify
 
 # Enable -M and -Z flags; -M is used by mayday
 sys-process/lsof rpc selinux