diff --git a/boring-sys/Cargo.toml b/boring-sys/Cargo.toml
index 1904a15f4..c61a695cc 100644
--- a/boring-sys/Cargo.toml
+++ b/boring-sys/Cargo.toml
@@ -75,6 +75,16 @@ allow-crl-extensions-bad-version = []
 # `BORING_BSSL{,_FIPS}_SOURCE_PATH`.
 underscore-wildcards = []
 
+# Restores the historical BoringSSL default of not enforcing RSA keyUsage
+# during TLS handshakes. BoringSSL starting with `BORINGSSL_API_VERSION`
+# 19 (see `include/openssl/base.h`) changed `enforce_rsa_key_usage` to
+# `true`, making a client-side RSA leaf whose keyUsage does not include the
+# bit required by the negotiated cipher suite a fatal handshake error
+# (KEY_USAGE_BIT_INCORRECT). Enabling this feature applies a build-time
+# patch that sets the default back to `false`, so RSA keyUsage mismatches
+# are non-fatal. Non-RSA keyUsage enforcement is unaffected.
+relax-rsa-key-usage = []
+
 [build-dependencies]
 bindgen = { workspace = true }
 cmake = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/boring-sys/build/config.rs b/boring-sys/build/config.rs
index 1fb5ac2b8..04a2819dc 100644
--- a/boring-sys/build/config.rs
+++ b/boring-sys/build/config.rs
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ pub(crate) struct Features {
     pub(crate) rpk: bool,
     pub(crate) underscore_wildcards: bool,
     pub(crate) allow_crl_extensions_bad_version: bool,
+    pub(crate) relax_rsa_key_usage: bool,
 }
 
 pub(crate) struct Env {
@@ -114,7 +115,9 @@ impl Config {
             );
         }
 
-        let features_with_patches_enabled = self.features.rpk || self.features.underscore_wildcards;
+        let features_with_patches_enabled = self.features.rpk
+            || self.features.underscore_wildcards
+            || self.features.relax_rsa_key_usage;
 
         let patches_required = features_with_patches_enabled && !self.env.assume_patched;
 
@@ -138,6 +141,7 @@ impl Features {
             rpk: cfg!(feature = "rpk"),
             underscore_wildcards: cfg!(feature = "underscore-wildcards"),
             allow_crl_extensions_bad_version: cfg!(feature = "allow-crl-extensions-bad-version"),
+            relax_rsa_key_usage: cfg!(feature = "relax-rsa-key-usage"),
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/boring-sys/build/main.rs b/boring-sys/build/main.rs
index 509f563c0..2b17a058f 100644
--- a/boring-sys/build/main.rs
+++ b/boring-sys/build/main.rs
@@ -444,12 +444,14 @@ fn ensure_patches_applied(config: &Config) -> io::Result<()> {
         );
         return Ok(());
     } else if config.env.source_path.is_some()
-        && (config.features.rpk || config.features.underscore_wildcards)
+        && (config.features.rpk
+            || config.features.underscore_wildcards
+            || config.features.relax_rsa_key_usage)
     {
         panic!(
             "BORING_BSSL_ASSUME_PATCHED must be set when setting
                BORING_BSSL_SOURCE_PATH and using any of the following
-               features: rpk, underscore-wildcards"
+               features: rpk, underscore-wildcards, relax-rsa-key-usage"
         );
     }
 
@@ -485,6 +487,11 @@ fn ensure_patches_applied(config: &Config) -> io::Result<()> {
         apply_patch(config, "underscore-wildcards.patch")?;
     }
 
+    if config.features.relax_rsa_key_usage {
+        println!("cargo:warning=applying RSA key-usage enforcement relaxation patch");
+        apply_patch(config, "relax-rsa-key-usage-enforcement.patch")?;
+    }
+
     Ok(())
 }
 
diff --git a/boring-sys/patches/relax-rsa-key-usage-enforcement.patch b/boring-sys/patches/relax-rsa-key-usage-enforcement.patch
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..884e5e57b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/boring-sys/patches/relax-rsa-key-usage-enforcement.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+From 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
+From: Kevin Bartlett Guthrie <kbg@cloudflare.com>
+Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:00:00 -0400
+Subject: [PATCH] Default enforce_rsa_key_usage to off
+
+BoringSSL starting with BORINGSSL_API_VERSION 19 (see
+include/openssl/base.h) flipped the SSL_CONFIG default for
+enforce_rsa_key_usage to true. As a client, this makes an RSA leaf whose
+keyUsage does not assert the bit required by the cipher suite a fatal
+handshake error (KEY_USAGE_BIT_INCORRECT) instead of the historical
+non-fatal behaviour.
+Many real upstream origins serve such certs; OpenSSL and the prior
+BoringSSL pin accepted them. There is no Rust API to relax this per
+connection. Restore the historical default (off) so RSA keyUsage
+mismatches are non-fatal again; non-RSA keyUsage enforcement is
+unaffected.
+---
+diff --git a/ssl/ssl_lib.cc b/ssl/ssl_lib.cc
+index 89702eaaf..4be64f8a5 100644
+--- a/ssl/ssl_lib.cc
++++ b/ssl/ssl_lib.cc
+@@ -575,7 +575,7 @@ SSL_CONFIG::SSL_CONFIG(SSL *ssl_arg)
+       signed_cert_timestamps_enabled(false),
+       ocsp_stapling_enabled(false),
+       channel_id_enabled(false),
+-      enforce_rsa_key_usage(true),
++      enforce_rsa_key_usage(false),
+       retain_only_sha256_of_client_certs(false),
+       handoff(false),
+       shed_handshake_config(false),
+-- 
+2.39.5
diff --git a/boring/Cargo.toml b/boring/Cargo.toml
index 0aa34592f..c77bf96ad 100644
--- a/boring/Cargo.toml
+++ b/boring/Cargo.toml
@@ -52,6 +52,10 @@ rpk = ["credential", "boring-sys/rpk"]
 # `BORING_BSSL{,_FIPS}_ASSUME_PATCHED`.
 underscore-wildcards = ["boring-sys/underscore-wildcards"]
 
+# Restores the historical BoringSSL default of not enforcing RSA keyUsage
+# during TLS handshakes.
+relax-rsa-key-usage = ["boring-sys/relax-rsa-key-usage"]
+
 # **DO NOT USE** This will be removed without warning in future releases.
 # Alias for 'fips', only for backwards compatibility.
 fips-precompiled = ["fips"]
diff --git a/boring/src/ssl/test/verify.rs b/boring/src/ssl/test/verify.rs
index b7981e68c..6c7015ec4 100644
--- a/boring/src/ssl/test/verify.rs
+++ b/boring/src/ssl/test/verify.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 use super::server::Server;
 use crate::hash::MessageDigest;
-use crate::ssl::SslVerifyMode;
+use crate::ssl::{SslFiletype, SslOptions, SslVerifyMode, SslVersion};
 use crate::x509::store::X509StoreBuilder;
 use crate::x509::X509;
 use hex;
@@ -148,3 +148,68 @@ fn ssl_callback() {
     client.connect();
     assert!(CALLED_BACK.load(Ordering::SeqCst));
 }
+
+/// Verifies that an RSA leaf certificate whose keyUsage extension lacks the
+/// bit required by the negotiated cipher suite is rejected when BoringSSL
+/// enforces RSA keyUsage and accepted when enforcement is relaxed.
+///
+/// The test certificates live in `boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed*.pem` and
+/// were generated by `boring/test/generate-rsa-key-usage-relaxed-certs.sh`.
+/// That script creates a leaf cert with `keyUsage = keyEncipherment` only (no
+/// `digitalSignature`). Pinning the handshake to TLS 1.2 +
+/// `ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256` makes the required bit `digitalSignature`, so
+/// the connection fails with `KEY_USAGE_BIT_INCORRECT` unless the
+/// `relax-rsa-key-usage` feature is enabled.
+#[test]
+fn rsa_key_usage_mismatch() {
+    const CIPHER: &str = "ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256";
+
+    let mut server = Server::builder();
+    server
+        .ctx()
+        .set_certificate_chain_file("test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed.pem")
+        .unwrap();
+    server
+        .ctx()
+        .set_private_key_file("test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed-key.pem", SslFiletype::PEM)
+        .unwrap();
+    server.ctx().set_options(SslOptions::NO_TLSV1_3);
+    server.ctx().set_cipher_list(CIPHER).unwrap();
+    server
+        .ctx()
+        .set_min_proto_version(Some(SslVersion::TLS1_2))
+        .unwrap();
+    server
+        .ctx()
+        .set_max_proto_version(Some(SslVersion::TLS1_2))
+        .unwrap();
+
+    let configure_client = |server: &Server| {
+        let mut client = server.client();
+        client.ctx().set_verify(SslVerifyMode::PEER);
+        client
+            .ctx()
+            .set_ca_file("test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed-ca.pem")
+            .unwrap();
+        client.ctx().set_options(SslOptions::NO_TLSV1_3);
+        client.ctx().set_cipher_list(CIPHER).unwrap();
+        client
+            .ctx()
+            .set_min_proto_version(Some(SslVersion::TLS1_2))
+            .unwrap();
+        client
+            .ctx()
+            .set_max_proto_version(Some(SslVersion::TLS1_2))
+            .unwrap();
+        client
+    };
+
+    if cfg!(feature = "relax-rsa-key-usage") {
+        let server = server.build();
+        configure_client(&server).connect();
+    } else {
+        server.should_error();
+        let server = server.build();
+        configure_client(&server).connect_err();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/boring/test/generate-rsa-key-usage-relaxed-certs.sh b/boring/test/generate-rsa-key-usage-relaxed-certs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..bdc2a5b0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/boring/test/generate-rsa-key-usage-relaxed-certs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Generates the certificates used by `boring/src/ssl/test/verify.rs` for the
+# `rsa_key_usage_mismatch` test.
+#
+# The resulting leaf certificate has an RSA key and a keyUsage extension that
+# only asserts keyEncipherment (no digitalSignature). When BoringSSL enforces
+# RSA keyUsage, an ECDHE-RSA cipher suite therefore fails with
+# KEY_USAGE_BIT_INCORRECT. When enforcement is relaxed, the handshake succeeds.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+NAME=rsa-key-usage-relaxed
+
+# CA key and self-signed certificate. The CA key is deleted at the end; only
+# the CA certificate is needed by the test.
+openssl genrsa -out "${NAME}-ca-key.pem" 2048
+openssl req -new -x509 \
+    -key "${NAME}-ca-key.pem" \
+    -out "${NAME}-ca.pem" \
+    -days 3650 \
+    -subj "/CN=Relax RSA Key Usage Test CA" \
+    -addext "basicConstraints=critical,CA:TRUE" \
+    -addext "keyUsage=critical,keyCertSign,cRLSign"
+
+# Leaf key and certificate request.
+openssl genrsa -out "${NAME}-key.pem" 2048
+openssl req -new \
+    -key "${NAME}-key.pem" \
+    -out "${NAME}.csr" \
+    -subj "/CN=localhost"
+
+# Leaf certificate with keyUsage=keyEncipherment only. The missing
+# digitalSignature bit is what triggers the RSA keyUsage check failure.
+openssl x509 -req \
+    -in "${NAME}.csr" \
+    -CA "${NAME}-ca.pem" \
+    -CAkey "${NAME}-ca-key.pem" \
+    -CAcreateserial \
+    -out "${NAME}.pem" \
+    -days 365 \
+    -extfile <(printf '%s\n' \
+        'keyUsage=critical,keyEncipherment' \
+        'extendedKeyUsage=serverAuth' \
+        'subjectAltName=DNS:localhost')
+
+rm -f "${NAME}.csr" "${NAME}.srl" "${NAME}-ca-key.pem"
diff --git a/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed-ca.pem b/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed-ca.pem
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3afe33b9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed-ca.pem
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+MIIDPTCCAiWgAwIBAgIUVyjdxXDX1AIoOdOTwFCvxMZtiikwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL
+BQAwJjEkMCIGA1UEAwwbUmVsYXggUlNBIEtleSBVc2FnZSBUZXN0IENBMB4XDTI2
+MDYyNjE4NDMxMloXDTM2MDYyMzE4NDMxMlowJjEkMCIGA1UEAwwbUmVsYXggUlNB
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+RMbshIkpD5rfFuIjx1/ApuQ=
+-----END CERTIFICATE-----
diff --git a/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed-key.pem b/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed-key.pem
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..32b1f025d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed-key.pem
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
+MIIEvQIBADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAASCBKcwggSjAgEAAoIBAQCtBcpDMwAouuCD
+SdO4rtWQkT/5IImPGLIX0qofIZq54eur64RPnh7FqbI+G87iD8/xXaEBup84fhT9
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+/okcZc7DZOZCUlcHgiIg0y0=
+-----END PRIVATE KEY-----
diff --git a/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed.pem b/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed.pem
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f9cf94e51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/boring/test/rsa-key-usage-relaxed.pem
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
+MIIDRTCCAi2gAwIBAgIUCmRSuBn+jTOljHtas3Mut6KyiFAwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL
+BQAwJjEkMCIGA1UEAwwbUmVsYXggUlNBIEtleSBVc2FnZSBUZXN0IENBMB4XDTI2
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+5ls7xa9vwSLCKoXtAXGiaSePA5XDAkTGrg==
+-----END CERTIFICATE-----