diff --git a/app-misc/screen/screen-4.9.1-r1.ebuild b/app-misc/screen/screen-4.9.1-r1.ebuild
index c7bbb48e80515..074cf13857129 100644
--- a/app-misc/screen/screen-4.9.1-r1.ebuild
+++ b/app-misc/screen/screen-4.9.1-r1.ebuild
@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ src_prepare() {
 }
 
 src_configure() {
+	# bug #944429 (revisit this on >= 5.0.0)
+	append-cflags -std=gnu17
 	append-lfs-flags
 	append-cppflags "-DMAXWIN=${MAX_SCREEN_WINDOWS:-100}"