diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gnum4/SIGPIPE.patch b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gnum4/SIGPIPE.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index cd7d8910bc3..00000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gnum4/SIGPIPE.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-Make the `126.diversions' test work when run in the Nix daemon.
-See http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.gnu.m4.bugs/2552/focus=2555 for details.
-
-index 02e0f6d..3cd6951 100644
---- a/doc/m4.texinfo
-+++ b/doc/m4.texinfo
-@@ -4714,7 +4714,7 @@ ifdef(`__unix__', ,
- ')m4exit(`77')')dnl
- changequote(`[', `]')dnl
- syscmd([echo 'divert(1)hi
--format(%1000000d, 1)' | m4 | sed 1q])dnl
-+format(%1000000d, 1)' | ]__program__[ | sed -n 1p])dnl
- @result{}hi
- sysval
- @result{}0
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gnum4/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gnum4/default.nix
index 4f1c2f8c362..0158f6b5e2a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gnum4/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/gnum4/default.nix
@@ -1,18 +1,12 @@
 {stdenv, fetchurl}:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  name = "m4-1.4.11";
+  name = "m4-1.4.12";
   src = fetchurl {
     url = "mirror://gnu/m4/${name}.tar.bz2";
-    sha256 = "1bcakymxddxykg5vbll3d9xq17m5sa3r6cprf1k27x5k4mjnhz0b";
+    sha256 = "18qvi12843kvqkpcmrjxz1929s833q5d0jzm8hc965j663g1fll5";
   };
 
-  patches = [ ./SIGPIPE.patch ];
-
-  # XXX: Work around Gnulib bug.  See:
-  # http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.gnu.m4.bugs/2478 .
-  configureFlags = "gl_cv_func_strtod_works=no";
-
   doCheck = true;
 
   meta = {