diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 303ea224..36986e37 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ AC_ARG_ENABLE(redirect,
 	enable_redirect=yes])
 
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(logrotate,
-        AS_HELP_STRING([--disable-logrotate], [Disable built-in rotation of /var/log/wtmp, default enabled]),,[
+        AS_HELP_STRING([--disable-logrotate], [Disable built-in rotation of /var/log/wtmp]),,[
 	enable_logrotate=yes])
 
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(doc,
@@ -82,6 +82,10 @@ AC_ARG_ENABLE(contrib,
         AS_HELP_STRING([--disable-contrib], [Disable build and install of contrib section]),,[
 	enable_contrib=yes])
 
+AC_ARG_ENABLE([rescue],
+	AS_HELP_STRING([--disable-rescue], [Disable potentially unsafe rescue mode]),,
+	[enable_rescue=yes])
+
 # Check for extra plugins to enable
 AC_ARG_ENABLE(all_plugins,
     AS_HELP_STRING([--enable-all-plugins], [Enable all plugins, default: auto]),
@@ -185,6 +189,9 @@ AS_IF([test "x$enable_redirect" = "xyes"], [
 AS_IF([test "x$enable_logrotate" != "xno"], [
 	AC_DEFINE(LOGROTATE_ENABLED, 1, [Enable built-in rotation of /var/log/wtmp et al.])])
 
+AS_IF([test "x$enable_rescue" != "xno"], [
+	AC_DEFINE([RESCUE_MODE], 1, [Define to enable support for rescue mode.])])
+
 AM_CONDITIONAL(LOGROTATE, [test "x$enable_logrotate" = "xyes"])
 
 ### With features ##############################################################################
@@ -355,6 +362,7 @@ Optional features:
   Skip fsck check.......: $enable_fastboot
   Run fsck fix mode.....: $enable_fsckfix
   Redirect output.......: $enable_redirect
+  Rescue mode...........: $enable_rescue
   Default hostname......: $hostname
   Default group.........: $group
   Default runlevel......: $runlevel
diff --git a/doc/cmdline.md b/doc/cmdline.md
index 7e2ae218..eb36d322 100644
--- a/doc/cmdline.md
+++ b/doc/cmdline.md
@@ -86,6 +86,8 @@ The `bool` setting is one of `on, off, true false, 1, 0`.
     the system booted in a limited fallback mode.  See [config.md][]
     for more information.
 
+    This option can be disabled with `configure --without-rescue`
+
     **Note:** in this mode `initctl` will not work.  Correct the problem
     and use `reboot -f` to force reboot.
 
diff --git a/doc/config.md b/doc/config.md
index 2ee5fde9..539cfdd7 100644
--- a/doc/config.md
+++ b/doc/config.md
@@ -1141,6 +1141,10 @@ Finit supports a rescue mode which is activated by the `rescue` option
 on the kernel command line.  See [cmdline docs](cmdline.md) for how to
 activate it.
 
+This rescue mode can be disabled at configure time using:
+
+    configure --without-rescue
+
 The rescue mode comes in two flavors; *traditional* and *fallback*.
 
 > **Note:** in this mode `initctl` will not work.  Use the `-f` flag to
diff --git a/src/conf.c b/src/conf.c
index 01ce9718..6c0fcfb4 100644
--- a/src/conf.c
+++ b/src/conf.c
@@ -246,10 +246,12 @@ static void parse_arg(char *arg)
 		return;
 	}
 
+#ifdef RESCUE_MODE
 	if (string_compare(arg, "rescue") || string_compare(arg, "recover")) {
 		rescue = 1;
 		return;
 	}
+#endif
 
 	if (string_compare(arg, "single") || string_compare(arg, "S")) {
 		single = 1;
diff --git a/src/finit.c b/src/finit.c
index bb3c46d1..ea37dd3f 100644
--- a/src/finit.c
+++ b/src/finit.c
@@ -649,8 +649,10 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	/*
 	 * In case of emergency.
 	 */
+#ifdef RESCUE_MODE
 	if (rescue)
 		rescue = sulogin(0);
+#endif
 
 	/*
 	 * Load plugins early, the first hook is in banner(), so we