diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/cppunit/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/cppunit/default.nix
index 3cafa1c75d76..fba624a861d7 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/cppunit/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/cppunit/default.nix
@@ -9,6 +9,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "19qpqzy66bq76wcyadmi3zahk5v1ll2kig1nvg96zx9padkcdic9";
   };
 
+  # Avoid blanket -Werror to evade build failures on less
+  # tested compilers.
+  configureFlags = [ "--disable-werror" ];
+
   meta = with lib; {
     homepage = "https://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/cppunit/";
     description = "C++ unit testing framework";