diff --git a/lib/browser/utils/open-external/directives/open-external.js b/lib/browser/utils/open-external/directives/open-external.js
index 5f86d75f..b9ced94d 100644
--- a/lib/browser/utils/open-external/directives/open-external.js
+++ b/lib/browser/utils/open-external/directives/open-external.js
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 
 const electron = require('electron');
 const shell = electron.remote.require('shell');
+const os = require('os');
+const nodeOpen = require('open');
 
 /**
  * This directive provides an attribute to open an external
@@ -41,6 +43,25 @@ module.exports = function() {
       element.css('cursor', 'pointer');
 
       element.on('click', function() {
+
+        // Electron's `shell.openExternal()` fails on GNU/Linux
+        // when Electron is ran with `sudo`.
+        // The issue was reported, and this is a workaround until
+        // its fixed on the Electron side.
+        // `node-open` is smart enough to check the `$SUDO_USER`
+        // environment variable and to prepend `sudo -u <user>`
+        // if needed.
+        // We keep `shell.openExternal()` for OSes other than
+        // Linux since we intend to fully rely on it when the
+        // issue is fixed, and since its closer integration with
+        // the operating system might lead to more accurate results
+        // than a third party NPM module.
+        //
+        // See https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/5039
+        if (os.platform() === 'linux') {
+          return nodeOpen(scope.openExternal);
+        }
+
         shell.openExternal(scope.openExternal);
       });
     }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 8698474f..74e0a403 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@
     "is-elevated": "^1.0.0",
     "lodash": "^4.5.1",
     "ngstorage": "^0.3.10",
+    "open": "0.0.5",
     "resin-image-write": "^2.0.5",
     "resin-zip-image": "^1.1.2",
     "sudo-prompt": "^2.2.0",
diff --git a/tests/browser/utils/open-external.spec.js b/tests/browser/utils/open-external.spec.js
index ba6b8fe9..27c26556 100644
--- a/tests/browser/utils/open-external.spec.js
+++ b/tests/browser/utils/open-external.spec.js
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 'use strict';
 
 const m = require('mochainon');
+const os = require('os');
 const angular = require('angular');
 const electron = require('electron');
 const shell = electron.remote.require('shell');
@@ -43,13 +44,26 @@ describe('Browser: OpenExternal', function() {
       m.chai.expect(element.css('cursor')).to.equal('pointer');
     });
 
-    it('should call Electron shell.openExternal with the attribute value', function() {
-      const shellExternalStub = m.sinon.stub(shell, 'openExternal');
-      const element = $compile('<span open-external="https://resin.io">Resin.io</span>')($rootScope);
-      element.triggerHandler('click');
-      $rootScope.$digest();
-      m.chai.expect(shellExternalStub).to.have.been.calledWith('https://resin.io');
-      shellExternalStub.restore();
+    describe('given non linux', function() {
+
+      beforeEach(function() {
+        this.osPlatformStub = m.sinon.stub(os, 'platform');
+        this.osPlatformStub.returns('darwin');
+      });
+
+      afterEach(function() {
+        this.osPlatformStub.restore();
+      });
+
+      it('should call Electron shell.openExternal with the attribute value', function() {
+        const shellExternalStub = m.sinon.stub(shell, 'openExternal');
+        const element = $compile('<span open-external="https://resin.io">Resin.io</span>')($rootScope);
+        element.triggerHandler('click');
+        $rootScope.$digest();
+        m.chai.expect(shellExternalStub).to.have.been.calledWith('https://resin.io');
+        shellExternalStub.restore();
+      });
+
     });
 
   });