diff --git a/configs/qemu_aarch64_virt_defconfig b/configs/qemu_aarch64_virt_defconfig
index 3bafd90e5a..076773302d 100644
--- a/configs/qemu_aarch64_virt_defconfig
+++ b/configs/qemu_aarch64_virt_defconfig
@@ -19,3 +19,4 @@ BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_CUSTOM_VERSION=y
 BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_CUSTOM_VERSION_VALUE="4.15.2"
 BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_USE_CUSTOM_CONFIG=y
 BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_CUSTOM_CONFIG_FILE="board/qemu/aarch64-virt/linux-4.15.config"
+BR2_LINUX_KERNEL_NEEDS_HOST_OPENSSL=y