diff --git a/CHANGES/6771.bugfix b/CHANGES/6771.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bc7e3185d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGES/6771.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Added a more descriptive error message that is shown when CONTENT_ORIGIN is not properly configured
diff --git a/pulpcore/app/settings.py b/pulpcore/app/settings.py
index 183399f18c..5d6b494d0e 100644
--- a/pulpcore/app/settings.py
+++ b/pulpcore/app/settings.py
@@ -230,4 +230,10 @@
 try:
     CONTENT_ORIGIN
 except NameError:
-    raise ImproperlyConfigured(_("You must specify the CONTENT_ORIGIN setting."))
+    raise ImproperlyConfigured(
+        _(
+            "CONTENT_ORIGIN is a required setting but it was not configured. This may be caused "
+            "by invalid read permissions of the settings file. Note that CONTENT_ORIGIN is set by "
+            "the installer automatically."
+        )
+    )