diff --git a/roles/bodhi2/backend/tasks/main.yml b/roles/bodhi2/backend/tasks/main.yml
index e0e1304942..312fe6c464 100644
--- a/roles/bodhi2/backend/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/bodhi2/backend/tasks/main.yml
@@ -290,3 +290,13 @@
   tags:
   - bodhi
   - config
+
+- name: have the masher own /var/cache/mash
+  file: >
+    path="/var/cache/mash"
+    owner=masher
+    group=masher
+  when: inventory_hostname.startswith('bodhi-backend')
+  tags:
+  - config
+  - bodhi