diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
index 580de87bdb23..c1c23616fc25 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
       FC="${gfortran}/bin/gfortran" F77="${gfortran}/bin/gfortran"
       JAVA_HOME="${jdk}"
       RANLIB=$(type -p ranlib)
+      r_cv_have_curl728=yes
       R_SHELL="${stdenv.shell}"
   '' + lib.optionalString stdenv.isDarwin ''
       --disable-R-framework