diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 3715de7e0..9fac19f60 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -214,6 +214,11 @@ jobs:
       - name: ${{ matrix.test }} (${{ matrix.track }})
         run: |
           set -eux
+
+          # XXX: prevent accidental usage of `images:` in CI test jobs.
+          #      All tests should be done using officially supported images.
+          echo '127.0.0.1 images.lxd.canonical.com' | sudo tee /etc/hosts
+
           TEST_SCRIPT="$(echo ${{ matrix.test }} | cut -d " " -f 1)"
           EXTRA_ARGS="$(echo ${{ matrix.test }} | cut -d " " -f 2- --only-delimited)"
           if [ "${TEST_SCRIPT}" = "cluster" ]; then
diff --git a/bin/test-image b/bin/test-image
index c94eab366..f6e5fbddd 100755
--- a/bin/test-image
+++ b/bin/test-image
@@ -270,8 +270,8 @@ done
 
 # Check that cloud variants can be rebooted cleanly.
 if [ "${VARIANT}" = "cloud" ]; then
+    echo "==> Performing post cloud-init reboot test"
     for name in ${INSTANCES}; do
-        echo "==> Performing post cloud-init reboot test"
         lxc exec "${name}" -- cloud-init status --wait --long
 
         # If systemd is available, use it to wait for any other job to complete before the restart