diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 5388a8c873..d8ccd07f03 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ testing-integration =
 
 docs =
 	# upstream
-	sphinx >= 3.5
+	sphinx >= 3.5,<=7.1.2  # workaround, see comments in pypa/setuptools#4020
 	jaraco.packaging >= 9.3
 	rst.linker >= 1.9
 	furo