diff --git a/common/modules/pkgselectprocess/checkpackage-backend.cpp b/common/modules/pkgselectprocess/checkpackage-backend.cpp
index 454f2b0..6cf2e8c 100644
--- a/common/modules/pkgselectprocess/checkpackage-backend.cpp
+++ b/common/modules/pkgselectprocess/checkpackage-backend.cpp
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     for (std::string package_name : package_names) {
         if (seen_packages.contains(package_name)) continue;
         seen_packages.insert(package_name);
+
+        // Tasks and wildcards should just be passed through as-is, for now
+        if (package_name.starts_with('^') || package_name.contains('*')) {
+            std::cout << package_name << " ";
+            continue;
+        }
         pkgCache::GrpIterator grp = cache->GetPkgCache()->FindGrp(package_name);
         if (!grp.end()) {
             pkgCache::PkgIterator it = grp.FindPreferredPkg(true);
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index b460ed9..2e9f62c 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ calamares-settings-ubuntu (1:25.04.26) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
     of several, miscellaneous shell scripts wrapped in YAML.
   * [pkgselectprocess] Explicitly log all apt commands in the debug logs.
   * [pkgselectprocess] Ensure apt-cdrom command outputs have their own prefix.
+  * [checkpackage-backend] Simply pass through packages starting with "^" or
+    containing "*". For this cycle we can trust our distributors won't do
+    anything unusual, but next cycle, we need to perform explicit validation
+    on these items. If you are a downstream, please be careful.
 
  -- Simon Quigley <tsimonq2@ubuntu.com>  Tue, 15 Apr 2025 22:15:17 -0500