diff --git a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/zkfuse/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/zkfuse/default.nix
index 456444f3bf59..14938113a1e0 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/filesystems/zkfuse/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/filesystems/zkfuse/default.nix
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
         -e 's,"zookeeper\.h",<zookeeper/zookeeper.h>,'
   '';
 
+  # c++17 (gcc-11's default) breaks the build as:
+  #   zkadapter.h:616:33: error: ISO C++17 does not allow dynamic exception specifications
+  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = [ "-std=c++14" ];
+
   installPhase = ''
     mkdir -p $out/bin
     cp -v src/zkfuse $out/bin