diff --git a/cli/internal/cmd/miniup.go b/cli/internal/cmd/miniup.go
index 815d03360..43ccd0de3 100644
--- a/cli/internal/cmd/miniup.go
+++ b/cli/internal/cmd/miniup.go
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"net"
 
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/cli/internal/cloudcmd"
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/cli/internal/featureset"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/cli/internal/libvirt"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/cli/internal/terraform"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/api/attestationconfigapi"
@@ -142,17 +143,14 @@ func (m *miniUpCmd) prepareConfig(cmd *cobra.Command, fileHandler file.Handler,
 			return nil, errors.New("not overwriting existing config")
 		}
 	}
-
-	config := config.Default()
-	config.Name = constants.MiniConstellationUID
-	config.RemoveProviderAndAttestationExcept(cloudprovider.QEMU)
-	config.StateDiskSizeGB = 8
-
-	// only release images (e.g. v2.7.0) use the production NVRAM
-	if !config.IsReleaseImage() {
-		config.Provider.QEMU.NVRAM = "testing"
+	if !featureset.CanUseEmbeddedMeasurmentsAndImage {
+		cmd.PrintErrln("Generating a valid default config is not supported in the OSS build of the Constellation CLI. Consult the documentation for instructions on where to download the enterprise version.")
+		return nil, errors.New("cannot create a mini cluster without a config file in the OSS build")
+	}
+	config, err := config.MiniDefault()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("mini default config is invalid: %v", err)
 	}
-
 	m.log.Debugf("Prepared configuration")
 
 	return config, fileHandler.WriteYAML(constants.ConfigFilename, config, file.OptOverwrite)
diff --git a/cli/internal/featureset/featureset.go b/cli/internal/featureset/featureset.go
index ae0c9f050..63e8a5996 100644
--- a/cli/internal/featureset/featureset.go
+++ b/cli/internal/featureset/featureset.go
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ const (
 // CanFetchMeasurements returns whether the current build can fetch measurements.
 const CanFetchMeasurements = canFetchMeasurements
 
+// CanUseEmbeddedMeasurmentsAndImage returns whether the current build can use embedded measurements and can provide a node image.
+const CanUseEmbeddedMeasurmentsAndImage = canUseEmbeddedMeasurmentsAndImage
+
 // CanUpgradeCheck returns whether the current build can check for upgrades.
 // This also includes fetching new measurements.
 const CanUpgradeCheck = canUpgradeCheck
diff --git a/cli/internal/featureset/featureset_enterprise.go b/cli/internal/featureset/featureset_enterprise.go
index cb1b0157f..3cd69c785 100644
--- a/cli/internal/featureset/featureset_enterprise.go
+++ b/cli/internal/featureset/featureset_enterprise.go
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
 package featureset
 
 const (
-	edition              = EditionEnterprise
-	canFetchMeasurements = true
-	canUpgradeCheck      = true
+	edition                           = EditionEnterprise
+	canFetchMeasurements              = true
+	canUpgradeCheck                   = true
+	canUseEmbeddedMeasurmentsAndImage = true
 )
diff --git a/cli/internal/featureset/featureset_oss.go b/cli/internal/featureset/featureset_oss.go
index 426be123f..2072641d3 100644
--- a/cli/internal/featureset/featureset_oss.go
+++ b/cli/internal/featureset/featureset_oss.go
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
 package featureset
 
 const (
-	edition              = EditionOSS
-	canFetchMeasurements = false
-	canUpgradeCheck      = false
+	edition                           = EditionOSS
+	canFetchMeasurements              = false
+	canUpgradeCheck                   = false
+	canUseEmbeddedMeasurmentsAndImage = false
 )
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 537aeb9e4..27345f120 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -298,6 +298,7 @@ type AttestationConfig struct {
 }
 
 // Default returns a struct with the default config.
+// IMPORTANT: Ensure that any state mutation is followed by a call to Validate() to ensure that the config is always in a valid state. Avoid usage outside of tests.
 func Default() *Config {
 	return &Config{
 		Version:             Version3,
@@ -367,6 +368,19 @@ func Default() *Config {
 	}
 }
 
+// MiniDefault returns a default config for a mini cluster.
+func MiniDefault() (*Config, error) {
+	config := Default()
+	config.Name = constants.MiniConstellationUID
+	config.RemoveProviderAndAttestationExcept(cloudprovider.QEMU)
+	config.StateDiskSizeGB = 8
+	// only release images (e.g. v2.7.0) use the production NVRAM
+	if !config.IsReleaseImage() {
+		config.Provider.QEMU.NVRAM = "testing"
+	}
+	return config, config.Validate(false)
+}
+
 // fromFile returns config file with `name` read from `fileHandler` by parsing
 // it as YAML. You should prefer config.New to read env vars and validate
 // config in a consistent manner.
diff --git a/internal/config/config_test.go b/internal/config/config_test.go
index cbd666647..4c07fd747 100644
--- a/internal/config/config_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/config_test.go
@@ -376,6 +376,15 @@ func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 				return cnf
 			}(),
 		},
+		"miniup default config is not valid because image and measurements are missing in OSS": {
+			cnf: func() *Config {
+				config, _ := MiniDefault()
+				require.NotNil(t, config)
+				return config
+			}(),
+			wantErr:      true,
+			wantErrCount: 2,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for name, tc := range testCases {
@@ -389,7 +398,7 @@ func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 				assert.Error(err)
 				var valErr *ValidationError
 				require.ErrorAs(err, &valErr)
-				assert.Equal(tc.wantErrCount, valErr.messagesCount())
+				assert.Equalf(tc.wantErrCount, valErr.messagesCount(), "Got unexpected error count: %d: %s", valErr.messagesCount(), valErr.LongMessage())
 				return
 			}
 			assert.NoError(err)