--- a/dsl_packages/cutlass/base_dsl/env_manager.py
+++ b/dsl_packages/cutlass/base_dsl/env_manager.py
@@ -344,27 +344,26 @@
 @lru_cache(maxsize=1)
 def _find_nvdisasm_binary() -> str:
-    """Return absolute path to the bundled nvdisasm binary."""
+    """Return absolute path to an nvdisasm binary."""
     from importlib import metadata
 
     try:
         dist = metadata.distribution("nvidia-cuda-nvdisasm")
     except metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
         dist = None
     if dist is not None and dist.files is not None:
         for entry in dist.files:
             if entry.name == "nvdisasm":
                 binpath = Path(str(dist.locate_file(entry)))
                 if binpath.is_file():
                     return str(binpath)
+    system_nvdisasm = shutil.which("nvdisasm")
+    if system_nvdisasm is not None:
+        return system_nvdisasm
     raise DSLUserCodeError(
-        "nvdisasm binary not found inside the nvidia-cuda-nvdisasm wheel.",
-        suggestion="\n".join(
-            [
-                "nvidia-cuda-nvdisasm is a runtime dependency of nvidia-cutlass-dsl",
-                "and should have been installed automatically. Try:",
-                "  • pip install --force-reinstall nvidia-cuda-nvdisasm",
-            ]
-        ),
+        "nvdisasm binary not found.",
+        suggestion=(
+            "Install the CUDA toolkit or reinstall nvidia-cuda-nvdisasm."
+        ),
     )