diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/kerberos/heimdal.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/kerberos/heimdal.nix
index aeea290bdb28..320e161d3da8 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/kerberos/heimdal.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/kerberos/heimdal.nix
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     "--without-x"
   ];
 
+  preConfigure = ''
+    export NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE="$NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE -pthread"
+  '';
+
   # We need to build hcrypt for applications like samba
   postBuild = ''
     (cd lib/hcrypto; make)