diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/perf.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/perf.nix
index efd3515ff240..2dcdcdc4a91d 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/perf.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/kernel/perf.nix
@@ -23,10 +23,13 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   # perf refers both to newt and slang
   # binutils is required for libbfd.
   nativeBuildInputs = [ asciidoc xmlto docbook_xsl docbook_xml_dtd_45 libxslt flex bison ];
-  buildInputs = [ elfutils python perl newt slang pkgconfig libunwind binutils ] ++
+  buildInputs = [ python perl newt slang pkgconfig libunwind binutils ] ++
     stdenv.lib.optional withGtk gtk;
 
-  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = "-Wno-error=cpp";
+  # Note: we don't add elfutils to buildInputs, since it provides a
+  # bad `ld' and other stuff.
+  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = "-I${elfutils}/include -Wno-error=cpp";
+  NIX_CFLAGS_LINK = "-L${elfutils}/lib";
 
   installFlags = "install install-man ASCIIDOC8=1";