diff --git a/libavutil/ppc/cpu.c b/libavutil/ppc/cpu.c
index 96b491c716..bc8bb5f47c 100644
--- a/libavutil/ppc/cpu.c
+++ b/libavutil/ppc/cpu.c
@@ -95,12 +95,15 @@ int ff_get_cpu_flags_ppc(void)
 #endif
                 if (ret & AV_CPU_FLAG_VSX)
                     av_assert0(ret & AV_CPU_FLAG_ALTIVEC);
-            } else if (buf[i] == AT_HWCAP2) {
+            }
+#ifdef AT_HWCAP2 /* not introduced until glibc 2.18 */
+            else if (buf[i] == AT_HWCAP2) {
 #ifdef PPC_FEATURE2_ARCH_2_07
                 if (buf[i + 1] & PPC_FEATURE2_ARCH_2_07)
                     ret |= AV_CPU_FLAG_POWER8;
 #endif
             }
+#endif /* AT_HWCAP2 */
         }
     }