diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 66d2be50ef2..0f74885a938 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 * [BUGFIX] KV store: Fix false-positive `status_code="500"` metrics for HA tracker CAS operations when using memberlist. #7408
 * [BUGFIX] Memberlist: Skip nil values delivered by `WatchPrefix` when a key is deleted, preventing a panic in the HA tracker caused by a failed type assertion on a nil interface value. #7429
 * [BUGFIX] Tenant Federation: Fix `unsupported character` error when `tenant-federation.regex-matcher-enabled` is enabled and the input regex matches 0 or 1 existing tenant. #7424
+* [BUGFIX] Packaging: Fix RPM and deb packages to install the binary to `/usr/bin`, install the systemd unit to the correct system path (`/usr/lib/systemd/system` for RPM, `/lib/systemd/system` for deb), and mark the sysconfig/default env file as a config file so it is not overwritten on upgrade.
 
 ## 1.21.0 in progress
 
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9c85ae5ddc1..c0bc02d2dbd 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -362,20 +362,22 @@ dist/$(UPTODATE)-packages: dist $(wildcard packaging/deb/**) $(wildcard packagin
 			--architecture $$deb_arch \
 			--after-install packaging/deb/control/postinst \
 			--before-remove packaging/deb/control/prerm \
+			--config-files /etc/default/cortex \
 			--package dist/cortex-$(VERSION)_$$arch.deb \
-			dist/cortex-linux-$$arch=/usr/local/bin/cortex \
+			dist/cortex-linux-$$arch=/usr/bin/cortex \
 			docs/configuration/single-process-config-blocks.yaml=/etc/cortex/single-process-config.yaml \
 			packaging/deb/default/cortex=/etc/default/cortex \
-			packaging/deb/systemd/cortex.service=/etc/systemd/system/cortex.service; \
+			packaging/deb/systemd/cortex.service=/lib/systemd/system/cortex.service; \
 		$(FPM_OPTS) -t rpm  \
 			--architecture $$rpm_arch \
 			--after-install packaging/rpm/control/post \
 			--before-remove packaging/rpm/control/preun \
+			--config-files /etc/sysconfig/cortex \
 			--package dist/cortex-$(VERSION)_$$arch.rpm \
-			dist/cortex-linux-$$arch=/usr/local/bin/cortex \
+			dist/cortex-linux-$$arch=/usr/bin/cortex \
 			docs/configuration/single-process-config-blocks.yaml=/etc/cortex/single-process-config.yaml \
 			packaging/rpm/sysconfig/cortex=/etc/sysconfig/cortex \
-			packaging/rpm/systemd/cortex.service=/etc/systemd/system/cortex.service; \
+			packaging/rpm/systemd/cortex.service=/usr/lib/systemd/system/cortex.service; \
 	done
 	for pkg in dist/*.deb dist/*.rpm; do \
   		sha256sum $$pkg | cut -d ' ' -f 1 > $${pkg}-sha-256; \
diff --git a/packaging/deb/systemd/cortex.service b/packaging/deb/systemd/cortex.service
index e695f117e87..f54f2772a26 100644
--- a/packaging/deb/systemd/cortex.service
+++ b/packaging/deb/systemd/cortex.service
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ After=network-online.target
 Restart=always
 User=cortex
 EnvironmentFile=/etc/default/cortex
-ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/cortex --config.file $CONFIG_FILE --log.level $LOG_LEVEL $CUSTOM_ARGS
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/cortex --config.file $CONFIG_FILE --log.level $LOG_LEVEL $CUSTOM_ARGS
 ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
 TimeoutStopSec=20s
 SendSIGKILL=no
diff --git a/packaging/fpm/Dockerfile b/packaging/fpm/Dockerfile
index 2b32eea23d4..273d2d3e601 100644
--- a/packaging/fpm/Dockerfile
+++ b/packaging/fpm/Dockerfile
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ FROM alpine:3.23
 RUN apk add --no-cache \
         ruby \
         ruby-dev \
-        ruby-etc \
         gcc \
         git \
         libc-dev \
diff --git a/packaging/rpm/systemd/cortex.service b/packaging/rpm/systemd/cortex.service
index 63b9fb2f7c4..c49ddb95371 100644
--- a/packaging/rpm/systemd/cortex.service
+++ b/packaging/rpm/systemd/cortex.service
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ After=network-online.target
 Restart=always
 User=cortex
 EnvironmentFile=/etc/sysconfig/cortex
-ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/cortex --config.file $CONFIG_FILE --log.level $LOG_LEVEL $CUSTOM_ARGS
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/cortex --config.file $CONFIG_FILE --log.level $LOG_LEVEL $CUSTOM_ARGS
 ExecReload=/bin/kill -HUP $MAINPID
 TimeoutStopSec=20s
 SendSIGKILL=no