diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/util-linux-ng/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/util-linux-ng/default.nix
index 166c9358759..4b8c01f1457 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/util-linux-ng/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/util-linux-ng/default.nix
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   configureFlags = ''
     --disable-use-tty-group
+    --enable-write
     ${if ncurses == null then "--without-ncurses" else ""}
   '';