diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/octave/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/octave/default.nix
index 56a7d24e906..908f1c429aa 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/octave/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/octave/default.nix
@@ -10,5 +10,5 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     md5 = "b781f5d0cd750cb9bb3ef23523f5f339";
   };
   buildInputs = [g77 readline ncurses];
-  configureFlags = "--enable-readline --enable-dl --disable-static";
+  configureFlags = "--enable-readline --enable-dl --disable-static --enable-shared";
 }