diff --git a/debian/rules b/debian/rules
index dff04ef..99e7014 100755
--- a/debian/rules
+++ b/debian/rules
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 
 override_dh_auto_test:
 	# explicitly unset HOME to force tests to shell out
-	HOME= dh_auto_test
+	# set USER as it's unset in some environments
+	HOME= USER=$(shell getent passwd `id -u` | cut -f1 -d:) dh_auto_test
 
 %:
 	dh $@ --buildsystem=golang --with=golang