diff --git a/arch/Config.in b/arch/Config.in
index 1ea4e21413..1665009a62 100644
--- a/arch/Config.in
+++ b/arch/Config.in
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ config BR2_arm
 
 config BR2_armeb
 	bool "ARM (big endian)"
-	# MMU support is set by the subarchitecture file, arch/Config.in.arm
+	select BR2_ARCH_HAS_MMU_MANDATORY
 	help
 	  ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC)
 	  instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by ARM Holdings.
diff --git a/arch/Config.in.arm b/arch/Config.in.arm
index 85040ac89f..657923f14b 100644
--- a/arch/Config.in.arm
+++ b/arch/Config.in.arm
@@ -259,6 +259,8 @@ config BR2_pj4
 	select BR2_ARM_CPU_ARMV7A
 	select BR2_ARCH_HAS_MMU_OPTIONAL
 
+# Cortex-M cores are only supported for little endian configurations
+if BR2_arm
 comment "armv7m cores"
 config BR2_cortex_m3
 	bool "cortex-M3"
@@ -275,6 +277,7 @@ config BR2_cortex_m7
 	select BR2_ARM_CPU_MAYBE_HAS_FPV5
 	select BR2_ARM_CPU_ARMV7M
 	select BR2_ARCH_NEEDS_GCC_AT_LEAST_5
+endif # BR2_arm
 endif # !BR2_ARCH_IS_64
 
 comment "armv8 cores"