diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 43dc2a4fe..5151771e2 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ dnl
 AC_MODE_T
 AC_UID_T
 AC_SIZE_T
+AC_SSIZE_T
 dnl
 dnl only set RETSIGTYPE if it is not set already
 dnl