diff --git a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/cairo/package.py b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/cairo/package.py
index e1ac8aaa7d76ed99c3797c82dc9db93fba0a2865..8255e869bea222285418c162e16e96200b18f1c8 100644
--- a/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/cairo/package.py
+++ b/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/cairo/package.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ class Cairo(Package):
 
     def install(self, spec, prefix):
         configure("--prefix=%s" % prefix,
+                  "--disable-trace", # can cause problems with libiberty
                   "--enable-tee")
         make()
         make("install")