diff --git a/gnu/packages/virtualization.scm b/gnu/packages/virtualization.scm
index f3c91f0661..5b3a002af6 100644
--- a/gnu/packages/virtualization.scm
+++ b/gnu/packages/virtualization.scm
@@ -1092,6 +1092,9 @@ (define-public libvirt
              "-Dstorage_disk=enabled"
              "-Dstorage_dir=enabled"
              "-Dpolkit=enabled"
+             ;; XXX The default, but required to make -Dsasl ‘stick’.
+             ;; See <https://gitlab.com/libvirt/libvirt/-/issues/185>
+             "-Ddriver_remote=enabled"
              "-Dnls=enabled"            ;translations
              (string-append "-Ddocdir=" (assoc-ref %outputs "out") "/share/doc/"
                             ,name "-" ,version)