diff --git a/pkgs/servers/dns/knot-dns/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/dns/knot-dns/default.nix
index cba21fbeb8e..af7d4d4c48c 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/dns/knot-dns/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/dns/knot-dns/default.nix
@@ -16,15 +16,17 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [ pkgconfig ];
   buildInputs = [
-    gnutls jansson liburcu libidn
+    gnutls jansson liburcu libidn lmdb
     nettle libedit
     libiconv
     # without sphinx &al. for developer documentation
   ]
     # Use embedded lmdb there for now, as detection is broken on Darwin somehow.
-    ++ stdenv.lib.optionals stdenv.isLinux [ libcap_ng systemd lmdb ]
+    ++ stdenv.lib.optionals stdenv.isLinux [ libcap_ng systemd ]
     ++ stdenv.lib.optional stdenv.isDarwin zlib; # perhaps due to gnutls
 
+  configureFlags = [ "--with-lmdb=${stdenv.lib.getLib lmdb}"/*not perfect*/ ];
+
   enableParallelBuilding = true;
 
   CFLAGS = [ "-O2" "-DNDEBUG" ];