diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/gcc/5/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/gcc/5/default.nix
index 3b105143c0b..53e64fe8abc 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/gcc/5/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/gcc/5/default.nix
@@ -495,6 +495,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation ({
 
   inherit (stdenv) is64bit;
 
+  setupHook = ./use-old-abi.sh;
+
   meta = {
     homepage = http://gcc.gnu.org/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.gpl3Plus;  # runtime support libraries are typically LGPLv3+
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/gcc/5/use-old-abi.sh b/pkgs/development/compilers/gcc/5/use-old-abi.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3a0c996033a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/gcc/5/use-old-abi.sh
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE+=" -D_GLIBCXX_USE_CXX11_ABI=0"