diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/judy/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/judy/default.nix
index 4199becb06d..4bca61d5b14 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/judy/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/judy/default.nix
@@ -8,6 +8,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     sha256 = "1sv3990vsx8hrza1mvq3bhvv9m6ff08y4yz7swn6znszz24l0w6j";
   };
 
+  # gcc 4.8 optimisations break judy.
+  # http://sourceforge.net/p/judy/mailman/message/31995144/
+  preConfigure = ''
+    configureFlagsArray+=("CFLAGS=-fno-strict-aliasing -fno-aggressive-loop-optimizations")
+  '';
+
   meta = {
     homepage = http://judy.sourceforge.net/;
     license = stdenv.lib.licenses.lgpl21Plus;