diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index b24d7fad..0a9bd352 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -305,8 +305,8 @@ if(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_ID STREQUAL "MSVC")
 
   set(MSVC_USE_STATIC_RUNTIME ON CACHE BOOL "static build")
 else()
-  if(CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS MATCHES "--as-needed")
-    message(FATAL_ERROR "DwarFS cannot be built with --as-needed")
+  if(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS AND CMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS MATCHES "--as-needed")
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "DwarFS cannot be built with `BUILD_SHARED_LIBS` and `--as-needed` enabled simultaneously.")
   endif()
 endif()