diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2009.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2009.xml
index 71edc7f0f00..5b1d04e4bc1 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2009.xml
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2009.xml
@@ -237,8 +237,8 @@ php.override {
    </listitem>
    <listitem>
      <para>
-       Nginx web server is now started with additional sandbox/hardening options. By default, write access to
-       <literal>services.nginx.stateDir</literal> is allowed. To allow writing to other folders,
+       Add option <literal>services.nginx.enableSandbox</literal> to starting Nginx web server with additional sandbox/hardening options.
+       By default, write access to <literal>services.nginx.stateDir</literal> is allowed. To allow writing to other folders,
        use <literal>systemd.services.nginx.serviceConfig.ReadWritePaths</literal>
        <programlisting>
 systemd.services.nginx.serviceConfig.ReadWritePaths = [ "/var/www" ];
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/nginx/default.nix b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/nginx/default.nix
index 75fe1df506b..312d2b0a21a 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/nginx/default.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/web-servers/nginx/default.nix
@@ -463,6 +463,14 @@ in
         '';
       };
 
+      enableSandbox = mkOption {
+        default = false;
+        type = types.bool;
+        description = ''
+          Starting Nginx web server with additional sandbox/hardening options.
+        '';
+      };
+
       user = mkOption {
         type = types.str;
         default = "nginx";
@@ -713,6 +721,7 @@ in
         CapabilityBoundingSet = [ "CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE" "CAP_SYS_RESOURCE" ];
         # Security
         NoNewPrivileges = true;
+      } // optionalAttrs cfg.enableSandbox {
         # Sandboxing
         ProtectSystem = "strict";
         ProtectHome = mkDefault true;
diff --git a/nixos/tests/nginx-sandbox.nix b/nixos/tests/nginx-sandbox.nix
index 514318c9456..bc9d3ba8add 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/nginx-sandbox.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/nginx-sandbox.nix
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, ... }: {
     ];
     services.nginx.enable = true;
     services.nginx.package = pkgs.nginx-lua;
+    services.nginx.enableSandbox = true;
     services.nginx.virtualHosts.localhost = {
       extraConfig = ''
         location /test1-write {