diff --git a/ndk/build/core/build-binary.mk b/ndk/build/core/build-binary.mk
index f5ebdcb44..6566fec39 100644
--- a/ndk/build/core/build-binary.mk
+++ b/ndk/build/core/build-binary.mk
@@ -54,6 +54,14 @@ else
   endif
 endif
 
+#
+# If LOCAL_ALLOW_UNDEFINED_SYMBOLS, the linker will allow the generation
+# of a binary that uses undefined symbols.
+#
+ifeq ($(strip $(LOCAL_ALLOW_UNDEFINED_SYMBOLS)),)
+  LOCAL_LDFLAGS := $(LOCAL_LDFLAGS) $($(my)NO_UNDEFINED_LDFLAGS)
+endif
+
 #
 # The original Android build system allows you to use the .arm prefix
 # to a source file name to indicate that it should be defined in either
diff --git a/ndk/build/core/clear-vars.mk b/ndk/build/core/clear-vars.mk
index c9461261b..0d2702286 100644
--- a/ndk/build/core/clear-vars.mk
+++ b/ndk/build/core/clear-vars.mk
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ NDK_LOCAL_VARS := \
   LOCAL_STATIC_WHOLE_LIBRARIES \
   LOCAL_SHARED_LIBRARIES \
   LOCAL_MAKEFILE \
+  LOCAL_NO_UNDEFINED_SYMBOLS \
 
 $(call clear-vars, $(NDK_LOCAL_VARS))
 
diff --git a/ndk/build/toolchains/arm-eabi-4.2.1/setup.mk b/ndk/build/toolchains/arm-eabi-4.2.1/setup.mk
index 3f58347c8..4c10c07bd 100644
--- a/ndk/build/toolchains/arm-eabi-4.2.1/setup.mk
+++ b/ndk/build/toolchains/arm-eabi-4.2.1/setup.mk
@@ -76,6 +76,10 @@ TARGET_ARFLAGS := crs
 TARGET_LIBGCC := $(shell $(TARGET_CC) -mthumb-interwork -print-libgcc-file-name)
 TARGET_LDLIBS := -Wl,-rpath-link=$(SYSROOT)/usr/lib $(TARGET_LIBGCC)
 
+# These flags are used to ensure that a binary doesn't reference undefined
+# flags.
+TARGET_NO_UNDEFINED_LDFLAGS := -Wl,--no-undefined
+
 # The ABI-specific sub-directory that the SDK tools recognize for
 # this toolchain's generated binaries
 TARGET_ABI_SUBDIR := armeabi
diff --git a/ndk/docs/ANDROID-MK.TXT b/ndk/docs/ANDROID-MK.TXT
index 1778ae44f..fb6bc8e8b 100644
--- a/ndk/docs/ANDROID-MK.TXT
+++ b/ndk/docs/ANDROID-MK.TXT
@@ -352,3 +352,12 @@ LOCAL_SHARED_LIBRARIES
     Note that this does not append the listed modules to the build graph,
     i.e. you should still add them to your application's required modules
     in your Application.mk
+
+LOCAL_ALLOW_UNDEFINED_SYMBOLS
+    By default, any undefined reference encountered when trying to build
+    a shared library will result in an "undefined symbol" error. This is a
+    great help to catch bugs in your source code.
+
+    However, if for some reason you need to disable this check, set this
+    variable to 'true'. Note that the corresponding shared library may fail
+    to load at runtime.