diff --git a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/site/markdown/tools/hadoop-aws/performance.md b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/site/markdown/tools/hadoop-aws/performance.md
index b8cb3ff732b36..1cee1bc937011 100644
--- a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/site/markdown/tools/hadoop-aws/performance.md
+++ b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/site/markdown/tools/hadoop-aws/performance.md
@@ -295,6 +295,7 @@ understands the risks.
 * If an option is to be tuned which may relax semantics, a new option MUST be defined.
 * Unknown flags are ignored; this is to avoid compatibility.
 * The option `*` means "turn everything on". This is implicitly unstable across releases.
+* Other stores may retain stricter semantics.
 
 | *Option* | *Meaning*          | Since |
 |----------|--------------------|:------|
diff --git a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/site/markdown/tools/hadoop-aws/testing.md b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/site/markdown/tools/hadoop-aws/testing.md
index 7222eee98baeb..16384f275e924 100644
--- a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/site/markdown/tools/hadoop-aws/testing.md
+++ b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/site/markdown/tools/hadoop-aws/testing.md
@@ -628,6 +628,10 @@ on third party stores.
     <name>test.fs.s3a.create.create.acl.enabled</name>
     <value>false</value>
   </property>
+  <property>
+    <name>test.fs.s3a.perf.enabled</name>
+    <value>false</value>
+  </property>
 ```
 
 See [Third Party Stores](third_party_stores.html) for more on this topic.
@@ -767,6 +771,18 @@ Tests in `ITestS3AContentEncoding` may need disabling
     <value>false</value>
   </property>
 ```
+
+### Disabling tests running in performance mode
+
+Some tests running in performance mode turn off the safety checks. They expect breaking posix semantics.
+For stores with stricter semantics, these test cases must be disabled.
+```xml
+  <property>
+    <name>test.fs.s3a.perf.enabled</name>
+    <value>false</value>
+  </property>
+```
+
 ### Tests which may fail (and which you can ignore)
 
 * `ITestS3AContractMultipartUploader` tests `testMultipartUploadAbort` and `testSingleUpload` raising `FileNotFoundException`
diff --git a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/contract/s3a/ITestS3AContractCreate.java b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/contract/s3a/ITestS3AContractCreate.java
index 000caf328837e..033c2d94c7bf8 100644
--- a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/contract/s3a/ITestS3AContractCreate.java
+++ b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/contract/s3a/ITestS3AContractCreate.java
@@ -29,9 +29,11 @@
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.contract.AbstractFSContract;
 import org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.S3ATestUtils;
 
+import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.S3ATestConstants.KEY_PERFORMANCE_TESTS_ENABLED;
 import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.Constants.CONNECTION_EXPECT_CONTINUE;
 import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.S3ATestUtils.removeBaseAndBucketOverrides;
 import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.S3ATestUtils.setPerformanceFlags;
+import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.S3ATestUtils.skipIfNotEnabled;
 
 /**
  * S3A contract tests creating files.
@@ -84,6 +86,9 @@ protected Configuration createConfiguration() {
         conf,
         CONNECTION_EXPECT_CONTINUE);
     conf.setBoolean(CONNECTION_EXPECT_CONTINUE, expectContinue);
+    if (createPerformance) {
+      skipIfNotEnabled(conf, KEY_PERFORMANCE_TESTS_ENABLED, "Skipping tests running in performance mode");
+    }
     S3ATestUtils.disableFilesystemCaching(conf);
     return conf;
   }
diff --git a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/contract/s3a/ITestS3AContractMkdirWithCreatePerf.java b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/contract/s3a/ITestS3AContractMkdirWithCreatePerf.java
index 4b2468de97bb8..45dfc391b001d 100644
--- a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/contract/s3a/ITestS3AContractMkdirWithCreatePerf.java
+++ b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/contract/s3a/ITestS3AContractMkdirWithCreatePerf.java
@@ -29,7 +29,9 @@
 
 import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.contract.ContractTestUtils.createFile;
 import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.contract.ContractTestUtils.dataset;
+import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.S3ATestConstants.KEY_PERFORMANCE_TESTS_ENABLED;
 import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.S3ATestUtils.setPerformanceFlags;
+import static org.apache.hadoop.fs.s3a.S3ATestUtils.skipIfNotEnabled;
 
 /**
  * Test mkdir operations on S3A with create performance mode.
@@ -50,6 +52,8 @@ protected AbstractFSContract createContract(Configuration conf) {
 
   @Test
   public void testMkdirOverParentFile() throws Throwable {
+    skipIfNotEnabled(getContract().getConf(), KEY_PERFORMANCE_TESTS_ENABLED,
+        "Skipping tests running in performance mode");
     describe("try to mkdir where a parent is a file, should pass");
     FileSystem fs = getFileSystem();
     Path path = methodPath();
diff --git a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/s3a/S3ATestConstants.java b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/s3a/S3ATestConstants.java
index 9ab1768b2aba1..71cf7be18f52f 100644
--- a/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/s3a/S3ATestConstants.java
+++ b/hadoop-tools/hadoop-aws/src/test/java/org/apache/hadoop/fs/s3a/S3ATestConstants.java
@@ -63,6 +63,11 @@ public interface S3ATestConstants {
    */
   String KEY_ACL_TESTS_ENABLED = TEST_FS_S3A + "create.acl.enabled";
 
+  /**
+   * A property set to true if tests running in performance mode are enabled: {@value }
+   */
+  String KEY_PERFORMANCE_TESTS_ENABLED = TEST_FS_S3A + "perf.enabled";
+
   /**
    * A property set to true if V1 tests are enabled: {@value}.
    */