diff --git a/playbooks/roles/base/server/tasks/main.yaml b/playbooks/roles/base/server/tasks/main.yaml
index de491342cc..2f515ea92b 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/base/server/tasks/main.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/base/server/tasks/main.yaml
@@ -58,6 +58,12 @@
     src: bash-history.sh
     dest: /etc/profile.d/bash-history.sh
 
+- name: Ensure root cache directory
+  file:
+    path: /root/.cache
+    state: directory
+    mode: 0700
+
 - name: Include OS-specific tasks
   include_tasks: "{{ lookup('first_found', file_list) }}"
   vars:
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/main.yaml b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/main.yaml
index 65b9d03e93..46066afb70 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/main.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/main.yaml
@@ -140,6 +140,26 @@
     version: '{{ _install_ansible_openstacksdk_version | default(omit) }}'
     state: '{{ _install_openstacksdk_state | default(omit) }}'
 
+# NOTE(ianw) 2021-03-03 stevedore < 3.3.0 has a bug where it creates a
+# constantly expanding set of cache files in
+# /root/.cache/python-endpoints when run under ansible in a /tmp
+# directory (this happens via cloud-launcher and openstacksdk).
+# Ensure the production host is updated, and drop a .disable file
+# for good measure
+- name: Ensure stevedore >= 3.3.0
+  pip:
+    name: 'stevedore>=3.3.0'
+- name: Add stevedore cache dir
+  file:
+    path: /root/.cache/python-entrypoints/
+    state: directory
+    mode: 0700
+- name: Add stevedore cache disable file
+  file:
+    path: /root/.cache/python-entrypoints/.disable
+    state: touch
+    mode: 0600
+
 - name: Ensure /etc/ansible and /etc/ansible/hosts
   file:
     state: directory