diff --git a/src/etc/inc/system.inc b/src/etc/inc/system.inc
index 3c1c8ac727..847879d7b9 100644
--- a/src/etc/inc/system.inc
+++ b/src/etc/inc/system.inc
@@ -1364,6 +1364,9 @@ EOD;
 	fwrite($fd, $nginx_config);
 	fclose($fd);
 
+	/* nginx will fail to start if this directory does not exist. */
+	safe_mkdir("/var/tmp/nginx/");
+
 	return 0;
 
 }