diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 30572b74..0620b6b1 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ dnl arbitrary path - we don't actually install there.
      -DSYSCONF_INSTALL_DIR:PATH=/usr/libexec/rpm-ostree/etc \
      -DSHARE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=/usr/libexec/rpm-ostree/share \
      -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS:BOOL=ON \
-     ${cmake_args} ../libhif)
+     ${cmake_args} ../libhif) || exit 1
 
 AC_CONFIG_FILES([
 Makefile