diff --git a/changelog.d/26076_rpm_environment_file.fix.md b/changelog.d/26076_rpm_environment_file.fix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..680e4b5f293c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/26076_rpm_environment_file.fix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Use the conventional `/etc/sysconfig/vector` environment file path in RPM packages, migrating
+existing `/etc/default/vector` customizations during upgrades.
+
+authors: inflatador
diff --git a/distribution/rpm/vector.spec b/distribution/rpm/vector.spec
index a09809e221493..d6f47edaf0f3c 100644
--- a/distribution/rpm/vector.spec
+++ b/distribution/rpm/vector.spec
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ rm -rf %{buildroot}
 mkdir -p %{buildroot}
 mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_bindir}
 mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/%{_name}
-mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/default
+mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/sysconfig
 mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_sharedstatedir}/%{_name}
 mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/%{_name}
 mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_unitdir}
@@ -59,12 +59,22 @@ cp -a %{_builddir}/bin/vector %{buildroot}%{_bindir}
 mkdir -p %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/%{_name}/examples
 cp -a %{_builddir}/config/vector.yaml %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/%{_name}/examples/vector.yaml
 cp -a %{_builddir}/config/examples/. %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/%{_name}/examples
-cp -a %{_builddir}/systemd/vector.service %{buildroot}%{_unitdir}/vector.service
-cp -a %{_builddir}/systemd/vector.default %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/default/vector
+sed 's|EnvironmentFile=-/etc/default/vector|EnvironmentFile=-/etc/sysconfig/vector|' \
+  %{_builddir}/systemd/vector.service > %{buildroot}%{_unitdir}/vector.service
+cp -a %{_builddir}/systemd/vector.default %{buildroot}%{_sysconfdir}/sysconfig/vector
 cp -a %{_builddir}/licenses/. %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/%{_name}/licenses
 cp -a %{_builddir}/NOTICE %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/%{_name}/NOTICE
 cp -a %{_builddir}/LICENSE-3rdparty.csv %{buildroot}%{_datadir}/%{_name}/LICENSE-3rdparty.csv
 
+%pre
+# Preserve environment customizations when upgrading from an RPM that used
+# the Debian-style path. The packaged file is marked noreplace, so RPM keeps
+# this migrated file and installs the new default alongside it as .rpmnew.
+if [ -f %{_sysconfdir}/default/vector ] && [ ! -e %{_sysconfdir}/sysconfig/vector ]; then
+  mkdir -p %{_sysconfdir}/sysconfig
+  cp -a %{_sysconfdir}/default/vector %{_sysconfdir}/sysconfig/vector
+fi
+
 %post
 getent passwd %{_username} > /dev/null || \
   useradd --shell /sbin/nologin --system --home-dir %{_sharedstatedir}/%{_name} --user-group \
@@ -72,6 +82,10 @@ getent passwd %{_username} > /dev/null || \
 chown %{_username} %{_sharedstatedir}/%{_name}
 usermod -aG systemd-journal %{_username}  || true
 usermod -aG systemd-journal-remote %{_username}  || true
+systemctl daemon-reload >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+%postun
+systemctl daemon-reload >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 
 %clean
 rm -rf %{buildroot}
@@ -80,7 +94,7 @@ rm -rf %{buildroot}
 %defattr(-,root,root,-)
 %{_bindir}/*
 %{_unitdir}/vector.service
-%config(noreplace) %{_sysconfdir}/default/vector
+%config(noreplace) %{_sysconfdir}/sysconfig/vector
 # Older versions installed a demo config at this path; mark it as %ghost so
 # rpm preserves any existing on-disk file during upgrade instead of removing
 # it as orphaned.
diff --git a/distribution/systemd/vector.default b/distribution/systemd/vector.default
index 81d4ea4cf6c7d..e0cc1eef18ca6 100644
--- a/distribution/systemd/vector.default
+++ b/distribution/systemd/vector.default
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# /etc/default/vector
+# Environment variables for Vector.
 # This file can theoretically contain a bunch of environment variables
 # for Vector.  See https://vector.dev/docs/setup/configuration/#environment-variables
 # for details.
diff --git a/scripts/verify-install.sh b/scripts/verify-install.sh
index ab9e6039f3f14..ced4759faada1 100755
--- a/scripts/verify-install.sh
+++ b/scripts/verify-install.sh
@@ -20,17 +20,32 @@ install_package () {
   esac
 }
 
+case "$package" in
+  *.deb)
+    environment_file=/etc/default/vector
+    ;;
+  *.rpm)
+    environment_file=/etc/sysconfig/vector
+    # Emulate an upgrade from a package that used the Debian-style path.
+    mkdir -p /etc/default
+    echo "FOO=bar" > /etc/default/vector
+    ;;
+esac
+
 install_package "$package"
 
 getent passwd vector || (echo "vector user missing" && exit 1)
 getent group vector || (echo "vector group  missing" && exit 1)
 vector --version || (echo "vector --version failed" && exit 1)
-test -f /etc/default/vector || (echo "/etc/default/vector doesn't exist" && exit 1)
+test -f "$environment_file" || (echo "$environment_file doesn't exist" && exit 1)
 test ! -e /etc/vector/vector.yaml || (echo "/etc/vector/vector.yaml should not be installed by default" && exit 1)
 test -f /usr/share/vector/examples/vector.yaml || (echo "/usr/share/vector/examples/vector.yaml doesn't exist" && exit 1)
 
 mkdir -p /etc/vector
-echo "FOO=bar" > /etc/default/vector
+if [[ "$package" == *.deb ]]; then
+  echo "FOO=bar" > "$environment_file"
+fi
+grep -q "FOO=bar" "$environment_file" || (echo "$environment_file did not preserve existing contents" && exit 1)
 echo "foo: bar" > /etc/vector/vector.yaml
 
 install_package "$package"
@@ -38,7 +53,7 @@ install_package "$package"
 getent passwd vector || (echo "vector user missing" && exit 1)
 getent group vector || (echo "vector group  missing" && exit 1)
 vector --version || (echo "vector --version failed" && exit 1)
-grep -q "FOO=bar" "/etc/default/vector" || (echo "/etc/default/vector has incorrect contents" && exit 1)
+grep -q "FOO=bar" "$environment_file" || (echo "$environment_file has incorrect contents" && exit 1)
 grep -q "foo: bar" "/etc/vector/vector.yaml" || (echo "user-provided /etc/vector/vector.yaml was not preserved on reinstall" && exit 1)
 
 dd-pkg lint "$package"