diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/wasmer/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/wasmer/default.nix
index 7b390c547163..60ce4d89f19c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/wasmer/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/wasmer/default.nix
@@ -22,6 +22,12 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage rec {
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [ cmake pkg-config ];
 
+  # Since wasmer 0.17 no backends are enabled by default. Backends are now detected
+  # using the [makefile](https://github.com/wasmerio/wasmer/blob/master/Makefile).
+  # Enabling cranelift as this used to be the old default. At least one backend is
+  # needed for the run subcommand to work.
+  cargoBuildFlags = [ "--features 'backend-cranelift'" ];
+
   LIBCLANG_PATH = "${llvmPackages.libclang}/lib";
 
   meta = with lib; {