diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/6.3.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/6.3.nix
index 1183f46b8db7..75c25e12d667 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/6.3.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/readline/6.3.nix
@@ -16,6 +16,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   patchFlags = "-p0";
 
+  configureFlags =
+    stdenv.lib.optional (stdenv.hostPlatform != stdenv.buildPlatform)
+    [ # This test requires running host code
+      "bash_cv_wcwidth_broken=no"
+    ];
+
   patches =
     [ ./link-against-ncurses.patch
       ./no-arch_only-6.3.patch