diff --git a/extensions/uboot-binman-fix-pkg-resources.sh b/extensions/uboot-binman-fix-pkg-resources.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..a8ad96fef7ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/extensions/uboot-binman-fix-pkg-resources.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2013-2026 Igor Pecovnik, igor@armbian.com
+#
+# This file is a part of the Armbian Build Framework
+# https://github.com/armbian/build/
+#
+# Fix binman's use of pkg_resources (removed in setuptools >= 82)
+# by migrating to importlib.resources.
+#
+# Safe for all U-Boot versions: no-op if pkg_resources is not used.
+# Can be removed once all BOOTBRANCH versions are >= v2025.10.
+
+function pre_config_uboot_target__fix_binman_pkg_resources() {
+	local control_py="tools/binman/control.py"
+
+	# Skip if file doesn't exist or doesn't use pkg_resources
+	[[ -f "${control_py}" ]] || return 0
+	grep -q 'import pkg_resources' "${control_py}" || return 0
+
+	display_alert "Patching binman" "migrating pkg_resources to importlib.resources" "info"
+
+	python3 << 'PYTHON_SCRIPT'
+import re
+
+control_py = "tools/binman/control.py"
+
+with open(control_py, "r") as f:
+    content = f.read()
+
+# 1. Remove "import pkg_resources" line
+content = re.sub(r'^import pkg_resources\b[^\n]*\n', '', content, flags=re.MULTILINE)
+
+# 2. Ensure importlib_resources alias is available
+has_importlib_alias = 'importlib_resources' in content
+has_importlib_dotted = re.search(r'^import importlib\.resources\s*$', content, flags=re.MULTILINE)
+
+if not has_importlib_alias and has_importlib_dotted:
+    # New U-Boot (v2024.01+): has "import importlib.resources" without alias
+    content = re.sub(
+        r'^import importlib\.resources\s*$',
+        'import importlib.resources as importlib_resources',
+        content, count=1, flags=re.MULTILINE
+    )
+    # Update existing dotted usage to use the alias
+    content = re.sub(r'\bimportlib\.resources\.', 'importlib_resources.', content)
+elif not has_importlib_alias:
+    # Old U-Boot (<=v2023.x): no importlib.resources at all
+    import_block = (
+        'try:\n'
+        '    import importlib.resources as importlib_resources\n'
+        '    importlib_resources.files\n'
+        'except (ImportError, AttributeError):\n'
+        '    import importlib_resources\n'
+    )
+    # Insert after the last top-level import line
+    lines = content.split('\n')
+    last_import_idx = 0
+    for i, line in enumerate(lines):
+        if re.match(r'^(?:import |from \S+ import )', line):
+            last_import_idx = i
+    lines.insert(last_import_idx + 1, import_block)
+    content = '\n'.join(lines)
+
+# 3. Replace pkg_resources.resource_string(__name__, X)
+#    with importlib_resources.files(__package__).joinpath(X).read_bytes()
+content = re.sub(
+    r'pkg_resources\.resource_string\s*\(\s*__name__\s*,\s*(.+?)\s*\)',
+    r'importlib_resources.files(__package__).joinpath(\1).read_bytes()',
+    content
+)
+
+# 4. Replace pkg_resources.resource_listdir(__name__, X)
+#    with [r.name for r in importlib_resources.files(__package__).joinpath(X).iterdir() if r.is_file()]
+content = re.sub(
+    r'pkg_resources\.resource_listdir\s*\(\s*__name__\s*,\s*(.+?)\s*\)',
+    r'[r.name for r in importlib_resources.files(__package__).joinpath(\1).iterdir() if r.is_file()]',
+    content
+)
+
+with open(control_py, "w") as f:
+    f.write(content)
+
+print("binman control.py patched successfully")
+PYTHON_SCRIPT
+}
diff --git a/lib/functions/configuration/main-config.sh b/lib/functions/configuration/main-config.sh
index 3b276d07fbd3..b718492eed78 100644
--- a/lib/functions/configuration/main-config.sh
+++ b/lib/functions/configuration/main-config.sh
@@ -65,6 +65,9 @@ function do_main_configuration() {
 	# Armbian config is central tool used in all builds. As its build externally, we have moved it to extension. Enable it here.
 	enable_extension "armbian-config"
 
+	# Fix binman pkg_resources removal in setuptools >= 82. Can be removed when all U-Boot versions are >= v2025.10.
+	enable_extension "uboot-binman-fix-pkg-resources"
+
 	# Network stack to use, default to network-manager; configuration can override this.
 	# Will be made read-only further down.
 	declare -g NETWORKING_STACK="${NETWORKING_STACK}"
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 279a7f8becc0..2edcf99d860f 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 # Dependabot will keep these versions up to date.
 
 pip == 26.0.1          # pip is the package installer for Python
-setuptools == 80.10.2   # for building Python packages
+setuptools == 82.0.1   # for building Python packages
 pyelftools == 0.32     # for building U-Boot
 unidiff == 0.7.5       # for parsing unified diff
 GitPython == 3.1.46    # for manipulating git repos