diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libmilter/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libmilter/default.nix
index 7e3c45634d9..aa606e2a177 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libmilter/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libmilter/default.nix
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     mkdir -p $out/lib
     cd libmilter
     cat > a.m4 <<EOF
+      define(\`confCC', \`$CC')
+      define(\`confAR', \`$AR')
       define(\`confEBINDIR', \`$out/libexec')
       define(\`confINCLUDEDIR', \`$out/include')
       define(\`confLIBDIR', \`$out/lib')
@@ -29,9 +31,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sh Build -f ./a.m4
   '';
 
-  patches = [ ./install.patch ./sharedlib.patch];
+  patches = [ ./install.patch ./sharedlib.patch ];
 
-  buildInputs = [ m4 ];
+  nativeBuildInputs = [ m4 ];
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {
     description = "Sendmail Milter mail filtering API library";