diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5b3b18867..c6057390f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@ expect - see [Known Issues](#known-issues).
       - [Flag `FF_KANIKO_SECUREJOIN_EXTRACTION`](#flag-ff_kaniko_securejoin_extraction)
       - [Flag `FF_KANIKO_RESOLVE_CACHE_KEY`](#flag-ff_kaniko_resolve_cache_key)
       - [Flag `FF_KANIKO_UNTAR_SKIP_ROOT`](#flag-ff_kaniko_untar_skip_root)
+      - [Flag `FF_KANIKO_RUN_HONOR_GROUP`](#flag-ff_kaniko_run_honor_group)
     - [Assertion Overrides](#assertion-overrides)
     - [Debug Image](#debug-image)
   - [Security](#security)
@@ -1305,6 +1306,13 @@ Set this flag to `true` to skip the root `.` entry when untarring.
 Defaults to `false`.
 Becomes default in `v1.29.0`.
 
+#### Flag `FF_KANIKO_RUN_HONOR_GROUP`
+
+When a stage sets `USER user:group`, `RUN` applies only the user and the gid falls back to the user's primary group, so an explicit group is silently dropped.
+Set this flag to `true` to pass the full `user:group` to the command so `RUN` runs with the requested group, matching docker.
+Defaults to `false`.
+Becomes default in `v1.29.0`.
+
 ### Assertion Overrides
 
 Kaniko checks internal invariants at runtime. If one is violated the build stops with a message like:
diff --git a/integration/dockerfiles/Dockerfile_test_issue_mz839 b/integration/dockerfiles/Dockerfile_test_issue_mz839
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..334f728a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/integration/dockerfiles/Dockerfile_test_issue_mz839
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# mz839: USER user:group must run RUN with the explicit group.
+# kaniko v1.27.6 drops the group and the gid falls back to the user's primary
+# group, so the recorded gid is 0 instead of 4242.
+FROM debian:12.10
+RUN groupadd -g 4242 testgroup
+USER root:testgroup
+RUN echo "gid=$(id -g)" > /result.txt
diff --git a/integration/images.go b/integration/images.go
index d562468ee..d41dedbf2 100644
--- a/integration/images.go
+++ b/integration/images.go
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ var KanikoEnv = []string{
 	"FF_KANIKO_RESOLVE_CACHE_KEY=1",
 	"FF_KANIKO_UNTAR_SKIP_ROOT=1",
 	"FF_KANIKO_REPRODUCIBLE_PRESERVE_BASE_LAYERS=1",
+	"FF_KANIKO_RUN_HONOR_GROUP=1",
 	"KANIKO_PRINT_PLAN=1",
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/commands/run.go b/pkg/commands/run.go
index bc2638e3e..cab1301c8 100644
--- a/pkg/commands/run.go
+++ b/pkg/commands/run.go
@@ -357,9 +357,17 @@ func runCommandInExec(config *v1.Config, buildArgs *dockerfile.BuildArgs, cmdRun
 		return fmt.Errorf("resolving user %s: %w", userAndGroup[0], err)
 	}
 
+	credential := userStr
+	if kConfig.EnvBool("FF_KANIKO_RUN_HONOR_GROUP") {
+		credential, err = util.ResolveEnvironmentReplacement(u, replacementEnvs, false)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("resolving user %s: %w", u, err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	// If specified, run the command as a specific user
-	if userStr != "" {
-		cmd.SysProcAttr.Credential, err = util.SyscallCredentials(userStr)
+	if credential != "" {
+		cmd.SysProcAttr.Credential, err = util.SyscallCredentials(credential)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("credentials: %w", err)
 		}