diff --git a/package/dovecot/dovecot.mk b/package/dovecot/dovecot.mk
index e4573e63f4..5a04b314ec 100644
--- a/package/dovecot/dovecot.mk
+++ b/package/dovecot/dovecot.mk
@@ -64,6 +64,13 @@ else
 DOVECOT_CONF_OPTS += --without-sodium
 endif
 
+ifeq ($(BR2_PACKAGE_LINUX_PAM),y)
+DOVECOT_CONF_OPTS += --with-pam
+DOVECOT_DEPENDENCIES += linux-pam
+else
+DOVECOT_CONF_OPTS += --without-pam
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(BR2_PACKAGE_DOVECOT_MYSQL),y)
 DOVECOT_CONF_ENV += MYSQL_CONFIG="$(STAGING_DIR)/usr/bin/mysql_config"
 DOVECOT_CONF_OPTS += --with-mysql