diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2305.section.md b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2305.section.md
index 6fcab17df5ee..dad97b42d3bb 100644
--- a/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2305.section.md
+++ b/nixos/doc/manual/release-notes/rl-2305.section.md
@@ -142,6 +142,8 @@ In addition to numerous new and upgraded packages, this release has the followin
 
 - [services.xserver.videoDrivers](options.html#opt-services.xserver.videoDrivers) now defaults to the `modesetting` driver over device-specific ones. The `radeon`, `amdgpu` and `nouveau` drivers are still available, but effectively unmaintained and not recommended for use.
 
+- conntrack helper autodetection has been removed from kernels 6.0 and up upstream, and an assertion was added to ensure things don't silently stop working. Migrate your configuration to assign helpers explicitly or use an older LTS kernel branch as a temporary workaround.
+
 ## Other Notable Changes {#sec-release-23.05-notable-changes}
 
 <!-- To avoid merge conflicts, consider adding your item at an arbitrary place in the list instead. -->
diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/networking/firewall.nix b/nixos/modules/services/networking/firewall.nix
index 4e332d489e4d..ac02a93836b8 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/networking/firewall.nix
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/networking/firewall.nix
@@ -269,6 +269,10 @@ in
         assertion = cfg.filterForward -> config.networking.nftables.enable;
         message = "filterForward only works with the nftables based firewall";
       }
+      {
+        assertion = cfg.autoLoadConntrackHelpers -> lib.versionOlder config.boot.kernelPackages.kernel.version "6";
+        message = "conntrack helper autoloading has been removed from kernel 6.0 and newer";
+      }
     ];
 
     networking.firewall.trustedInterfaces = [ "lo" ];
diff --git a/nixos/tests/all-tests.nix b/nixos/tests/all-tests.nix
index 785a5621f57e..28ea9272ffb7 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/all-tests.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/all-tests.nix
@@ -433,10 +433,8 @@ in {
   nagios = handleTest ./nagios.nix {};
   nar-serve = handleTest ./nar-serve.nix {};
   nat.firewall = handleTest ./nat.nix { withFirewall = true; };
-  nat.firewall-conntrack = handleTest ./nat.nix { withFirewall = true; withConntrackHelpers = true; };
   nat.standalone = handleTest ./nat.nix { withFirewall = false; };
   nat.nftables.firewall = handleTest ./nat.nix { withFirewall = true; nftables = true; };
-  nat.nftables.firewall-conntrack = handleTest ./nat.nix { withFirewall = true; withConntrackHelpers = true; nftables = true; };
   nat.nftables.standalone = handleTest ./nat.nix { withFirewall = false; nftables = true; };
   nats = handleTest ./nats.nix {};
   navidrome = handleTest ./navidrome.nix {};
diff --git a/nixos/tests/nat.nix b/nixos/tests/nat.nix
index 912a04deae8b..0b617cea7774 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/nat.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/nat.nix
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # client on the inside network, a server on the outside network, and a
 # router connected to both that performs Network Address Translation
 # for the client.
-import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, lib, withFirewall, withConntrackHelpers ? false, nftables ? false, ... }:
+import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, lib, withFirewall, nftables ? false, ... }:
   let
     unit = if nftables then "nftables" else (if withFirewall then "firewall" else "nat");
 
@@ -16,16 +16,11 @@ import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, lib, withFirewall, withConntrackHelpers ?
           networking.nat.internalIPs = [ "192.168.1.0/24" ];
           networking.nat.externalInterface = "eth1";
         }
-        (lib.optionalAttrs withConntrackHelpers {
-          networking.firewall.connectionTrackingModules = [ "ftp" ];
-          networking.firewall.autoLoadConntrackHelpers = true;
-        })
       ];
   in
   {
     name = "nat" + (lib.optionalString nftables "Nftables")
-                 + (if withFirewall then "WithFirewall" else "Standalone")
-                 + (lib.optionalString withConntrackHelpers "withConntrackHelpers");
+                 + (if withFirewall then "WithFirewall" else "Standalone");
     meta = with pkgs.lib.maintainers; {
       maintainers = [ eelco rob ];
     };
@@ -39,10 +34,6 @@ import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, lib, withFirewall, withConntrackHelpers ?
                 (pkgs.lib.head nodes.router.config.networking.interfaces.eth2.ipv4.addresses).address;
               networking.nftables.enable = nftables;
             }
-            (lib.optionalAttrs withConntrackHelpers {
-              networking.firewall.connectionTrackingModules = [ "ftp" ];
-              networking.firewall.autoLoadConntrackHelpers = true;
-            })
           ];
 
         router =
@@ -95,7 +86,7 @@ import ./make-test-python.nix ({ pkgs, lib, withFirewall, withConntrackHelpers ?
         client.succeed("curl -v ftp://server/foo.txt >&2")
 
         # Test whether active FTP works.
-        client.${if withConntrackHelpers then "succeed" else "fail"}("curl -v -P - ftp://server/foo.txt >&2")
+        client.fail("curl -v -P - ftp://server/foo.txt >&2")
 
         # Test ICMP.
         client.succeed("ping -c 1 router >&2")