diff --git a/distributed/comm/tests/test_ucx.py b/distributed/comm/tests/test_ucx.py
index b841eec99ed..a55dcf11f08 100644
--- a/distributed/comm/tests/test_ucx.py
+++ b/distributed/comm/tests/test_ucx.py
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 import pytest
 
+import dask
+
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.gpu
 
 ucp = pytest.importorskip("ucp")
@@ -10,6 +12,7 @@
 from distributed.comm import connect, listen, parse_address, ucx
 from distributed.comm.registry import backends, get_backend
 from distributed.deploy.local import LocalCluster
+from distributed.diagnostics.nvml import has_cuda_context
 from distributed.protocol import to_serialize
 from distributed.utils_test import inc
 
@@ -326,6 +329,20 @@ async def test_simple():
             assert await client.submit(lambda x: x + 1, 10) == 11
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_cuda_context():
+    with dask.config.set({"distributed.comm.ucx.create_cuda_context": True}):
+        async with LocalCluster(
+            protocol="ucx", n_workers=1, asynchronous=True
+        ) as cluster:
+            async with Client(cluster, asynchronous=True) as client:
+                assert cluster.scheduler_address.startswith("ucx://")
+                assert has_cuda_context() == 0
+                worker_cuda_context = await client.run(has_cuda_context)
+                assert len(worker_cuda_context) == 1
+                assert list(worker_cuda_context.values())[0] == 0
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_transpose():
     da = pytest.importorskip("dask.array")
diff --git a/distributed/comm/tests/test_ucx_config.py b/distributed/comm/tests/test_ucx_config.py
index 8fa38290f0a..7bd6db66410 100644
--- a/distributed/comm/tests/test_ucx_config.py
+++ b/distributed/comm/tests/test_ucx_config.py
@@ -79,6 +79,19 @@ async def test_ucx_config(cleanup):
             assert ucx_config.get("TLS") == "rc,tcp,rdmacm,cuda_copy"
         assert ucx_config.get("SOCKADDR_TLS_PRIORITY") == "rdmacm"
 
+    ucx = {
+        "nvlink": None,
+        "infiniband": None,
+        "rdmacm": None,
+        "net-devices": None,
+        "tcp": None,
+        "cuda_copy": None,
+    }
+
+    with dask.config.set({"distributed.comm.ucx": ucx}):
+        ucx_config = _scrub_ucx_config()
+        assert ucx_config == {}
+
 
 @pytest.mark.flaky(
     reruns=10, reruns_delay=5, condition=ucp.get_ucx_version() < (1, 11, 0)
diff --git a/distributed/comm/ucx.py b/distributed/comm/ucx.py
index e47b61a4fa0..63a2556fde0 100644
--- a/distributed/comm/ucx.py
+++ b/distributed/comm/ucx.py
@@ -70,7 +70,9 @@ def init_once():
     # We ensure the CUDA context is created before initializing UCX. This can't
     # be safely handled externally because communications in Dask start before
     # preload scripts run.
-    if "TLS" in ucx_config and "cuda_copy" in ucx_config["TLS"]:
+    if dask.config.get("distributed.comm.ucx.create_cuda_context") is True or (
+        "TLS" in ucx_config and "cuda_copy" in ucx_config["TLS"]
+    ):
         try:
             import numba.cuda
         except ImportError:
diff --git a/distributed/distributed-schema.yaml b/distributed/distributed-schema.yaml
index a19a6fc6fcd..477187b9177 100644
--- a/distributed/distributed-schema.yaml
+++ b/distributed/distributed-schema.yaml
@@ -834,6 +834,15 @@ properties:
                   introduced to resolve an issue with CUDA IPC that has been fixed in UCX 1.10, but
                   can cause establishing endpoints to be very slow, this is particularly noticeable in
                   clusters of more than a few dozen workers.
+              create-cuda-context:
+                type: [boolean, 'null']
+                description: |
+                  Creates a CUDA context before UCX is initialized. This is necessary to enable UCX to
+                  properly identify connectivity of GPUs with specialized networking hardware, such as
+                  InfiniBand. This permits UCX to choose transports automatically, without specifying
+                  additional variables for each transport, while ensuring optimal connectivity. When
+                  ``True``, a CUDA context will be created on the first device listed in
+                  ``CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES``.
 
           websockets:
             type: object
diff --git a/distributed/distributed.yaml b/distributed/distributed.yaml
index c9677424aa9..97ac480a172 100644
--- a/distributed/distributed.yaml
+++ b/distributed/distributed.yaml
@@ -187,13 +187,14 @@ distributed:
     socket-backlog: 2048
     recent-messages-log-length: 0  # number of messages to keep for debugging
     ucx:
-      cuda_copy: False  # enable cuda-copy
-      tcp: False  # enable tcp
-      nvlink: False  # enable cuda_ipc
-      infiniband: False # enable Infiniband
-      rdmacm: False # enable RDMACM
+      cuda_copy: null  # enable cuda-copy
+      tcp: null  # enable tcp
+      nvlink: null  # enable cuda_ipc
+      infiniband: null  # enable Infiniband
+      rdmacm: null  # enable RDMACM
       net-devices: null  # define what interface to use for UCX comm
       reuse-endpoints: null  # enable endpoint reuse
+      create-cuda-context: null  # create CUDA context before UCX initialization
 
     zstd:
       level: 3      # Compression level, between 1 and 22.