diff --git a/init/src/main.rs b/init/src/main.rs
index 221b7979ea..4f646d042d 100644
--- a/init/src/main.rs
+++ b/init/src/main.rs
@@ -54,6 +54,21 @@ impl InitConfig {
 fn switch_root(unit_store: &mut UnitStore, config: &mut InitConfig, prefix: &Path, etcdir: &Path) {
     status_ok(&format!("switchroot to {} {}", prefix.display(), etcdir.display()));
 
+    // Point init's working directory at the new root. There is no real chroot
+    // in Redox, so without this init's CWD stays unset and every daemon spawned
+    // after the switch inherits an invalid CWD (via AT_REDOX_CWD_FD). That made
+    // getcwd() fail in /usr binaries — e.g. the 00_base-env `zsh -c` setup
+    // service printed "zsh: Failed to get current directory: path invalid" and
+    // then HUNG, so init (which waits on that oneshot) never reached the login
+    // stack (ptyd/getty/login). Establishing a valid CWD here fixes both.
+    if let Err(err) = std::env::set_current_dir(prefix) {
+        init_warn(&format!(
+            "failed to chdir to new root {}: {}",
+            prefix.display(),
+            err
+        ));
+    }
+
     config
         .envs
         .insert("PATH".to_owned(), prefix.join("bin").into_os_string());