diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 723c428..d537df7 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ AC_PROG_INSTALL
 AC_PROG_LN_S
 AC_SUBST(SHELL)
 AC_SYS_LARGEFILE
+AC_FUNC_ALLOCA
 
 AC_CHECK_PROG([HAVE_POD2MAN], [pod2man], [yes])
 AS_IF([test "$HAVE_POD2MAN" != "yes"],