diff --git a/bfd/ChangeLog b/bfd/ChangeLog
index f086ad59c1..88a64d669f 100644
--- a/bfd/ChangeLog
+++ b/bfd/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+2018-05-25  Alan Modra  <amodra@gmail.com>
+
+	* configure.ac (bfd_cv_hidden): Run test with -Werror in CFLAGS.
+	* configure: Regenerate.
+
 2018-05-23  H.J. Lu  <hongjiu.lu@intel.com>
 
 	* elf64-ppc.c (ppc64_elf_write_core_note): Add ATTRIBUTE_NONSTRING
diff --git a/bfd/configure b/bfd/configure
index 2f3dbe7de3..c5b633592a 100755
--- a/bfd/configure
+++ b/bfd/configure
@@ -14043,6 +14043,8 @@ fi
 
 
 
+save_CFLAGS="$CFLAGS"
+CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -Werror"
 { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: checking compiler support for hidden visibility" >&5
 $as_echo_n "checking compiler support for hidden visibility... " >&6; }
 if test "${bfd_cv_hidden+set}" = set; then :
@@ -14070,6 +14072,7 @@ rm -f core conftest.err conftest.$ac_objext conftest.$ac_ext
 fi
 { $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: result: $bfd_cv_hidden" >&5
 $as_echo "$bfd_cv_hidden" >&6; }
+CFLAGS="$save_CFLAGS"
 if test $bfd_cv_hidden = yes; then
 
 $as_echo "#define HAVE_HIDDEN 1" >>confdefs.h
diff --git a/bfd/configure.ac b/bfd/configure.ac
index b320828fbb..bb5c1687b4 100644
--- a/bfd/configure.ac
+++ b/bfd/configure.ac
@@ -256,12 +256,15 @@ AC_CHECK_DECLS(strnlen)
 # This is used only by compress.c.
 AM_ZLIB
 
+save_CFLAGS="$CFLAGS"
+CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -Werror"
 AC_CACHE_CHECK([compiler support for hidden visibility], bfd_cv_hidden,
 [AC_COMPILE_IFELSE([AC_LANG_PROGRAM([[
 const char hw[] __attribute__ ((__visibility__ ("hidden"))) = "Hello, World\n";
 extern void print (const char *) __attribute__ ((__visibility__ ("hidden")));]],
 	[[print (hw);]])],
   [bfd_cv_hidden=yes], [bfd_cv_hidden=no])])
+CFLAGS="$save_CFLAGS"
 if test $bfd_cv_hidden = yes; then
   AC_DEFINE(HAVE_HIDDEN, 1,
 	    [Define if your compiler supports hidden visibility.])