diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/ucommon/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/ucommon/default.nix
index 7306243bca9..2ecf7729f4b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/ucommon/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/ucommon/default.nix
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [ pkg-config ];
 
+  # use C++14 Standard until error handling code gets updated upstream
+  CXXFLAGS = [ "-std=c++14" ];
+
   # disable flaky networking test
   postPatch = ''
     substituteInPlace test/stream.cpp \