diff --git a/docs/cli.md b/docs/cli.md
index e851148200..bc45769904 100644
--- a/docs/cli.md
+++ b/docs/cli.md
@@ -403,3 +403,14 @@ cog predict --use-replicate-token -i prompt="Hello"
 # Multiple environment variables
 cog run -e CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=0 -e BATCH_SIZE=32 python train.py
 ```
+
+# Selecting Ubuntu version for CUDA base image
+
+To select a specific Ubuntu version for the CUDA base image, set the environment variable `COG_UBUNTU_VERSION` before building:
+
+```bash
+export COG_UBUNTU_VERSION=22.04
+cog build --use-cog-base-image=false
+```
+
+If not set, the latest supported Ubuntu version will be used.
diff --git a/pkg/config/compatibility.go b/pkg/config/compatibility.go
index ae9f5c68ca..b9c3da29eb 100644
--- a/pkg/config/compatibility.go
+++ b/pkg/config/compatibility.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	_ "embed"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -255,13 +256,20 @@ func versionGreater(a string, b string) (bool, error) {
 
 func CUDABaseImageFor(cuda string, cuDNN string) (string, error) {
 	var images []CUDABaseImage
+	ubuntuEnv := os.Getenv("COG_UBUNTU_VERSION")
 	for _, image := range CUDABaseImages {
 		if version.Matches(cuda, image.CUDA) && image.CuDNN == cuDNN {
-			images = append(images, image)
+			if ubuntuEnv == "" || image.Ubuntu == ubuntuEnv {
+				images = append(images, image)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 	if len(images) == 0 {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("No matching base image for CUDA %s and CuDNN %s", cuda, cuDNN)
+		ubuntuMsg := ubuntuEnv
+		if ubuntuEnv == "" {
+			ubuntuMsg = "any"
+		}
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("No matching base image for CUDA %s, CuDNN %s, Ubuntu %s", cuda, cuDNN, ubuntuMsg)
 	}
 
 	sort.Slice(images, func(i, j int) bool {
diff --git a/pkg/config/config_test.go b/pkg/config/config_test.go
index 2aeba66454..0bcfaa9207 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config_test.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config_test.go
@@ -531,6 +531,46 @@ func TestCUDABaseImageTag(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Equal(t, "nvidia/cuda:11.8.0-cudnn8-devel-ubuntu22.04", imageTag)
 }
 
+func TestCUDABaseImageTagWithUbuntuEnv(t *testing.T) {
+	// By default, CUDA 12.8 + Python 3.12 should select Ubuntu 24.04
+	os.Unsetenv("COG_UBUNTU_VERSION")
+	configDefault := &Config{
+		Build: &Build{
+			GPU:           true,
+			PythonVersion: "3.12",
+			CUDA:          "12.8.0",
+			CuDNN:         "9",
+		},
+	}
+
+	err := configDefault.ValidateAndComplete("")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	imageTag, err := configDefault.CUDABaseImageTag()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, "nvidia/cuda:12.8.0-cudnn-devel-ubuntu24.04", imageTag)
+
+	// If COG_UBUNTU_VERSION is set to 22.04, should select Ubuntu 22.04 image
+	os.Setenv("COG_UBUNTU_VERSION", "22.04")
+	configEnv := &Config{
+		Build: &Build{
+			GPU:           true,
+			PythonVersion: "3.12",
+			CUDA:          "12.8.0",
+			CuDNN:         "9",
+		},
+	}
+
+	err = configEnv.ValidateAndComplete("")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	imageTag, err = configEnv.CUDABaseImageTag()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Equal(t, "nvidia/cuda:12.8.0-cudnn-devel-ubuntu22.04", imageTag)
+
+	os.Unsetenv("COG_UBUNTU_VERSION")
+}
+
 func TestBuildRunItemStringYAML(t *testing.T) {
 	type BuildWrapper struct {
 		Build *Build `yaml:"build"`