diff --git a/libfuse/tst-build.sh b/libfuse/tst-build.sh
index 146dee0ef359397ab4a537fbe419e0d23e9309db..6292d5588c80a958859282f181e519c37777578a 100755
--- a/libfuse/tst-build.sh
+++ b/libfuse/tst-build.sh
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ ensure_meson_version() {
     fi
 
     echo "meson version $current < $required, installing via python3.12 pip..."
+    python3.12 -m ensurepip --default-pip 2>/dev/null || true
     python3.12 -m pip install -i https://mirrors.tencent.com/pypi/simple/ \
         --trusted-host mirrors.tencent.com \
         "meson>=$required" || return 1