diff --git a/src/libstrongswan/library.c b/src/libstrongswan/library.c
index 4f79dcc5b..1d1e1f07e 100644
--- a/src/libstrongswan/library.c
+++ b/src/libstrongswan/library.c
@@ -241,6 +241,8 @@ static bool equals(char *a, char *b)
  */
 #define MEMWIPE_WIPE_WORDS 16
 
+#ifndef NO_CHECK_MEMWIPE
+
 /**
  * Write magic to memory, and try to clear it with memwipe()
  */
@@ -281,6 +283,8 @@ static bool check_memwipe()
 	return TRUE;
 }
 
+#endif
+
 /*
  * see header file
  */
@@ -387,10 +391,12 @@ bool library_init(char *settings, const char *namespace)
 	this->public.streams = stream_manager_create();
 	this->public.plugins = plugin_loader_create();
 
+#ifndef NO_CHECK_MEMWIPE
 	if (!check_memwipe())
 	{
 		return FALSE;
 	}
+#endif
 
 	if (lib->settings->get_bool(lib->settings,
 								"%s.integrity_test", FALSE, lib->ns))