diff --git a/cc/linker.go b/cc/linker.go
index 678b992d1..59c979dab 100644
--- a/cc/linker.go
+++ b/cc/linker.go
@@ -213,6 +213,18 @@ func (linker *baseLinker) linkerFlags(ctx ModuleContext, flags Flags) Flags {
 			CheckBadHostLdlibs(ctx, "host_ldlibs", linker.Properties.Host_ldlibs)
 
 			flags.LdFlags = append(flags.LdFlags, linker.Properties.Host_ldlibs...)
+
+			if !ctx.Windows() {
+				// Add -ldl, -lpthread and -lrt to host builds to match the default behavior of device
+				// builds
+				flags.LdFlags = append(flags.LdFlags,
+					"-ldl",
+					"-lpthread",
+				)
+				if !ctx.Darwin() {
+					flags.LdFlags = append(flags.LdFlags, "-lrt")
+				}
+			}
 		}
 	}