--- a/dbutil.h
+++ b/dbutil.h
@@ -94,6 +94,10 @@ int m_str_to_uint(const char* str, unsig
 #define DEF_MP_INT(X) mp_int X = {0, 0, 0, NULL}
 
 /* Dropbear assertion */
-#define dropbear_assert(X) do { if (!(X)) { fail_assert(#X, __FILE__, __LINE__); } } while (0)
+#ifndef DROPBEAR_ASSERT_ENABLED
+#define DROPBEAR_ASSERT_ENABLED 0
+#endif
+
+#define dropbear_assert(X) do { if (DROPBEAR_ASSERT_ENABLED && !(X)) { fail_assert(#X, __FILE__, __LINE__); } } while (0)
 
 #endif /* _DBUTIL_H_ */
