diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 442edd0d..b8b3eb17 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -446,6 +446,10 @@ if test "x$use_krb5" = "xyes"; then
 	if test "x$KRB5_LIB" = x; then
 		AC_MSG_ERROR([gssapi_krb5 headers and/or libs where not found, install them or build with --without-krb5])
 	fi
+	case $host_os in
+		*cygwin* ) KRB5_LIB="$KRB5_LIB -lcom_err";;
+	        * ) ;;
+	esac
 fi
 AC_SUBST(KRB5_LIB)