diff --git a/meta/conf/bitbake.conf b/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
index 9d9b268858..0635affbc1 100644
--- a/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
+++ b/meta/conf/bitbake.conf
@@ -601,7 +601,7 @@ PATCHRESOLVE = "noop"
 ##################################################################
 
 export BUILD_CPPFLAGS = "-isystem${STAGING_INCDIR_NATIVE}"
-BUILDSDK_CPPFLAGS = ""
+BUILDSDK_CPPFLAGS ?= "-g"
 export CPPFLAGS = "${TARGET_CPPFLAGS}"
 TARGET_CPPFLAGS = ""