diff --git a/modules/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.go b/modules/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.go
index 79a364fd01..ea846ecbfd 100644
--- a/modules/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.go
+++ b/modules/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.go
@@ -127,6 +127,21 @@ func configureAddress(ctx context.Context, c *ElasticsearchContainer) (string, e
 // The certificate is only available since version 8, and will be located in a well-known location.
 func configureCertificate(settings *Options, req *testcontainers.GenericContainerRequest) error {
 	if isAtLeastVersion(req.Image, 8) {
+		// These configuration keys explicitly disable CA generation.
+		// If any are set we skip the file retrieval.
+		configKeys := []string{
+			"xpack.security.enabled",
+			"xpack.security.http.ssl.enabled",
+			"xpack.security.transport.ssl.enabled",
+		}
+		for _, configKey := range configKeys {
+			if value, ok := req.Env[configKey]; ok {
+				if value == "false" {
+					return nil
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
 		// The container needs a post ready hook to copy the certificate from the container to the host.
 		// This certificate is only available since version 8
 		req.LifecycleHooks[0].PostReadies = append(req.LifecycleHooks[0].PostReadies,
diff --git a/modules/elasticsearch/elasticsearch_test.go b/modules/elasticsearch/elasticsearch_test.go
index 31431346e0..0bfdca7793 100644
--- a/modules/elasticsearch/elasticsearch_test.go
+++ b/modules/elasticsearch/elasticsearch_test.go
@@ -163,6 +163,51 @@ func TestElasticsearch(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestElasticsearch8WithoutSSL(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name      string
+		configKey string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:      "security disabled",
+			configKey: "xpack.security.enabled",
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "transport ssl disabled",
+			configKey: "xpack.security.transport.ssl.enabled",
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "http ssl disabled",
+			configKey: "xpack.security.http.ssl.enabled",
+		},
+	}
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			ctx := context.Background()
+			container, err := elasticsearch.RunContainer(
+				ctx,
+				testcontainers.WithImage(baseImage8),
+				testcontainers.WithEnv(map[string]string{
+					test.configKey: "false",
+				}))
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+
+			t.Cleanup(func() {
+				if err := container.Terminate(ctx); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("failed to terminate container: %s", err)
+				}
+			})
+
+			if len(container.Settings.CACert) > 0 {
+				t.Fatal("expected CA cert to be empty")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+
+}
+
 func TestElasticsearch8WithoutCredentials(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()