diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 557e4382ea..d91eab4d65 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -4761,6 +4761,12 @@ if compile_prog "" "" ; then
   syncfs=yes
 fi
 
+# check for kcov support (kernel must be 4.4+, compiled with certain options)
+kcov=no
+if check_include sys/kcov.h ; then
+    kcov=yes
+fi
+
 # Check we have a new enough version of sphinx-build
 has_sphinx_build() {
     # This is a bit awkward but works: create a trivial document and
@@ -6874,6 +6880,9 @@ fi
 if test "$syncfs" = "yes" ; then
   echo "CONFIG_SYNCFS=y" >> $config_host_mak
 fi
+if test "$kcov" = "yes" ; then
+  echo "CONFIG_KCOV=y" >> $config_host_mak
+fi
 if test "$inotify" = "yes" ; then
   echo "CONFIG_INOTIFY=y" >> $config_host_mak
 fi