diff --git a/__tests__/finder.test.ts b/__tests__/finder.test.ts
index 285a071c..f696b441 100644
--- a/__tests__/finder.test.ts
+++ b/__tests__/finder.test.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ process.env['RUNNER_TEMP'] = tempDir;
 
 import * as tc from '@actions/tool-cache';
 import * as core from '@actions/core';
+import * as exec from '@actions/exec';
 import * as finder from '../src/find-python';
 import * as installer from '../src/install-python';
 
@@ -298,4 +299,133 @@ describe('Finder tests', () => {
     expect(spyCoreAddPath).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(spyCoreExportVariable).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
+
+  describe('System Python fallback', () => {
+    let execSpy: jest.SpyInstance;
+    let manifestSpy: jest.SpyInstance;
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      // Mock the manifest to return entries only for x64, not riscv64
+      manifestSpy = jest.spyOn(installer, 'getManifest');
+      manifestSpy.mockImplementation(
+        async () => <tc.IToolRelease[]>manifestData
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('Falls back to system Python on unsupported architecture', async () => {
+      execSpy = jest.spyOn(exec, 'getExecOutput');
+      execSpy.mockImplementation(async () => ({
+        exitCode: 0,
+        stdout:
+          '/usr/bin/python3\n3.12.0\n/usr\n/usr/bin\n',
+        stderr: ''
+      }));
+
+      const result = await finder.useCpythonVersion(
+        '3.12',
+        'riscv64',
+        true,
+        false,
+        false,
+        false
+      );
+
+      expect(result).toEqual({impl: 'CPython', version: '3.12.0'});
+      expect(spyCoreAddPath).toHaveBeenCalledWith('/usr/bin');
+      expect(spyCoreExportVariable).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'pythonLocation',
+        '/usr'
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('Does not fall back on supported architecture with missing version', async () => {
+      // x64 has manifest entries, so fallback should NOT trigger
+      let thrown = false;
+      try {
+        await finder.useCpythonVersion(
+          '3.300000',
+          'x64',
+          true,
+          false,
+          false,
+          false
+        );
+      } catch {
+        thrown = true;
+      }
+      expect(thrown).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
+    it('Does not fall back when system Python version does not match', async () => {
+      execSpy = jest.spyOn(exec, 'getExecOutput');
+      execSpy.mockImplementation(async () => ({
+        exitCode: 0,
+        stdout:
+          '/usr/bin/python3\n3.11.5\n/usr\n/usr/bin\n',
+        stderr: ''
+      }));
+
+      let thrown = false;
+      try {
+        await finder.useCpythonVersion(
+          '3.12',
+          'riscv64',
+          true,
+          false,
+          false,
+          false
+        );
+      } catch {
+        thrown = true;
+      }
+      expect(thrown).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
+    it('Does not fall back for freethreaded builds', async () => {
+      execSpy = jest.spyOn(exec, 'getExecOutput');
+      execSpy.mockImplementation(async () => ({
+        exitCode: 0,
+        stdout:
+          '/usr/bin/python3\n3.13.0\n/usr\n/usr/bin\n',
+        stderr: ''
+      }));
+
+      let thrown = false;
+      try {
+        await finder.useCpythonVersion(
+          '3.13t',
+          'riscv64',
+          true,
+          false,
+          false,
+          false
+        );
+      } catch {
+        thrown = true;
+      }
+      expect(thrown).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+
+    it('Handles missing system Python gracefully', async () => {
+      execSpy = jest.spyOn(exec, 'getExecOutput');
+      execSpy.mockImplementation(async () => {
+        throw new Error('python3 not found');
+      });
+
+      let thrown = false;
+      try {
+        await finder.useCpythonVersion(
+          '3.12',
+          'riscv64',
+          true,
+          false,
+          false,
+          false
+        );
+      } catch {
+        thrown = true;
+      }
+      expect(thrown).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/dist/setup/index.js b/dist/setup/index.js
index 41363d8b..1a27fe9d 100644
--- a/dist/setup/index.js
+++ b/dist/setup/index.js
@@ -82997,6 +82997,45 @@ async function useCpythonVersion(version, architecture, updateEnvironment, check
             installDir = tc.find('Python', semanticVersionSpec, architecture);
         }
     }
+    if (!installDir && !freethreaded) {
+        // Try system Python as fallback, but only for architectures that have
+        // no pre-built binaries in the manifest at all. This prevents the
+        // fallback from firing when a specific version is missing on a
+        // supported architecture (e.g., requesting Python 3.99 on x86_64).
+        const baseArchitecture = architecture.replace('-freethreaded', '');
+        if (!manifest) {
+            manifest = await installer.getManifest();
+        }
+        const archHasManifestEntries = manifest?.some(release => release.files?.some((file) => file.arch === baseArchitecture));
+        if (!archHasManifestEntries) {
+            try {
+                const sysInfo = await exec.getExecOutput('python3', [
+                    '-c',
+                    'import sys, os; print(sys.executable + "\\n" + f"{sys.version_info.major}.{sys.version_info.minor}.{sys.version_info.micro}" + "\\n" + sys.prefix + "\\n" + os.path.dirname(sys.executable))'
+                ]);
+                if (sysInfo.exitCode === 0) {
+                    const [sysExecutable, sysVersion, sysPrefix, sysBinDir] = sysInfo.stdout.trim().split('\n');
+                    if (semver.satisfies(sysVersion, semanticVersionSpec)) {
+                        core.warning(`Pre-built Python not available for architecture '${baseArchitecture}'. Using system Python ${sysVersion} at ${sysExecutable}.`);
+                        if (updateEnvironment) {
+                            core.exportVariable('pythonLocation', sysPrefix);
+                            core.exportVariable('PKG_CONFIG_PATH', sysPrefix + '/lib/pkgconfig');
+                            core.exportVariable('Python_ROOT_DIR', sysPrefix);
+                            core.exportVariable('Python2_ROOT_DIR', sysPrefix);
+                            core.exportVariable('Python3_ROOT_DIR', sysPrefix);
+                            core.addPath(sysBinDir);
+                        }
+                        core.setOutput('python-version', sysVersion);
+                        core.setOutput('python-path', sysExecutable);
+                        return { impl: 'CPython', version: sysVersion };
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            catch {
+                // System Python not available, fall through to error
+            }
+        }
+    }
     if (!installDir) {
         const osInfo = await (0, utils_1.getOSInfo)();
         const msg = [
diff --git a/src/find-python.ts b/src/find-python.ts
index 99c6a7f2..ed1187ce 100644
--- a/src/find-python.ts
+++ b/src/find-python.ts
@@ -122,6 +122,60 @@ export async function useCpythonVersion(
     }
   }
 
+  if (!installDir && !freethreaded) {
+    // Try system Python as fallback, but only for architectures that have
+    // no pre-built binaries in the manifest at all. This prevents the
+    // fallback from firing when a specific version is missing on a
+    // supported architecture (e.g., requesting Python 3.99 on x86_64).
+    const baseArchitecture = architecture.replace('-freethreaded', '');
+    if (!manifest) {
+      manifest = await installer.getManifest();
+    }
+    const archHasManifestEntries = manifest?.some(
+      release =>
+        release.files?.some(
+          (file: {arch: string}) => file.arch === baseArchitecture
+        )
+    );
+
+    if (!archHasManifestEntries) {
+      try {
+        const sysInfo = await exec.getExecOutput('python3', [
+          '-c',
+          'import sys, os; print(sys.executable + "\\n" + f"{sys.version_info.major}.{sys.version_info.minor}.{sys.version_info.micro}" + "\\n" + sys.prefix + "\\n" + os.path.dirname(sys.executable))'
+        ]);
+        if (sysInfo.exitCode === 0) {
+          const [sysExecutable, sysVersion, sysPrefix, sysBinDir] =
+            sysInfo.stdout.trim().split('\n');
+          if (semver.satisfies(sysVersion, semanticVersionSpec)) {
+            core.warning(
+              `Pre-built Python not available for architecture '${baseArchitecture}'. Using system Python ${sysVersion} at ${sysExecutable}.`
+            );
+
+            if (updateEnvironment) {
+              core.exportVariable('pythonLocation', sysPrefix);
+              core.exportVariable(
+                'PKG_CONFIG_PATH',
+                sysPrefix + '/lib/pkgconfig'
+              );
+              core.exportVariable('Python_ROOT_DIR', sysPrefix);
+              core.exportVariable('Python2_ROOT_DIR', sysPrefix);
+              core.exportVariable('Python3_ROOT_DIR', sysPrefix);
+              core.addPath(sysBinDir);
+            }
+
+            core.setOutput('python-version', sysVersion);
+            core.setOutput('python-path', sysExecutable);
+
+            return {impl: 'CPython', version: sysVersion};
+          }
+        }
+      } catch {
+        // System Python not available, fall through to error
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   if (!installDir) {
     const osInfo = await getOSInfo();
     const msg = [