diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/cp/cpulimit/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/cp/cpulimit/package.nix
index 14a9d4d28b05..49ecd04353f5 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/cp/cpulimit/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/cp/cpulimit/package.nix
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "1dz045yhcsw1rdamzpz4bk8mw888in7fyqk1q1b3m1yk4pd1ahkh";
   };
 
+  env.NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = "-std=gnu17";
+
   patches = [
     ./remove-sys-sysctl.h.patch
     ./get-missing-basename.patch