diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 49405d660..6e0b32e7d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 # Nmap Changelog ($Id$); -*-text-*-
 
+o [Zenmap] Zenmap now understands the NMAP_PRIVILEGED and
+  NMAP_UNPRIVILEGED environment variables. [Tyler Wagner]
+
 o It's now possible to mix IPv4 range notation with CIDR netmasks in
   target specifications. For example, 192.168-170.4-100,200.5/16 is
   effectively the same as 192.168.168-170.0-255.0-255. [David Fifield]
diff --git a/zenmap/zenmapGUI/App.py b/zenmap/zenmapGUI/App.py
index 0818e983b..3c2744c89 100644
--- a/zenmap/zenmapGUI/App.py
+++ b/zenmap/zenmapGUI/App.py
@@ -168,7 +168,12 @@ def main_is_frozen():
             or imp.is_frozen("__main__")) # tools/freeze
 
 def is_root():
-    return sys.platform == "win32" or os.getuid() == 0 or is_maemo()
+    if 'NMAP_PRIVILEGED' in os.environ:
+        return True
+    elif 'NMAP_UNPRIVILEGED' in os.environ:
+        return False
+    else:
+        return sys.platform == "win32" or os.getuid() == 0 or is_maemo()
 
 def install_excepthook():
     # This will catch exceptions and send them to bugzilla