diff --git a/package/swupdate/swupdate.mk b/package/swupdate/swupdate.mk
index 6285437aaa..08d6ba9372 100644
--- a/package/swupdate/swupdate.mk
+++ b/package/swupdate/swupdate.mk
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@ SWUPDATE_SITE = $(call github,sbabic,swupdate,$(SWUPDATE_VERSION))
 SWUPDATE_LICENSE = GPL-2.0+, LGPL-2.1+, MIT
 SWUPDATE_LICENSE_FILES = COPYING
 
+# swupdate uses $CROSS-cc instead of $CROSS-gcc, which is not
+# available in all external toolchains, and use CC for linking. Ensure
+# TARGET_CC is used for both.
+SWUPDATE_MAKE_ENV = CC="$(TARGET_CC)" LD="$(TARGET_CC)"
+
 # swupdate bundles its own version of mongoose (version 6.11)
 
 ifeq ($(BR2_PACKAGE_JSON_C),y)