--- a/src/dbutil.h
+++ b/src/dbutil.h
@@ -80,7 +80,11 @@ int m_snprintf(char *str, size_t size, c
 #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)
 
 /* Returns 0 if a and b have the same contents */
 int constant_time_memcmp(const void* a, const void *b, size_t n);