diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 3c71472..71b5c3d 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -620,6 +620,8 @@ AC_ARG_WITH([caps],
 
 if test "x${with_caps}" != "xno"; then
     AC_SEARCH_LIBS([cap_init], [cap], [], [])
+    AS_IF([test "x${with_caps}" != "xyes" -a "x${with_caps}" != "x"],
+          LIBS="-L${with_caps}/lib $LIBS")
 
     # Only give an error on hosts that we know could support capabilities
     AC_CHECK_HEADERS([sys/capability.h], [], [