msg := $(error No gnu/libc-version.h found, please install glibc-dev[el]/glibc-static);
        endif
 else
-       FLAGS_DWARF=$(ALL_CFLAGS) -ldw -lelf $(ALL_LDFLAGS) $(EXTLIBS)
+       # for linking with debug library, run like:
+       # make DEBUG=1 LIBDW_DIR=/opt/libdw/
+       ifdef LIBDW_DIR
+               LIBDW_CFLAGS  := -I$(LIBDW_DIR)/include
+               LIBDW_LDFLAGS := -L$(LIBDW_DIR)/lib
+       endif
+
+       FLAGS_DWARF=$(ALL_CFLAGS) $(LIBDW_CFLAGS) -ldw -lelf $(LIBDW_LDFLAGS) $(ALL_LDFLAGS) $(EXTLIBS)
        ifneq ($(call try-cc,$(SOURCE_DWARF),$(FLAGS_DWARF),libdw),y)
                msg := $(warning No libdw.h found or old libdw.h found or elfutils is older than 0.138, disables dwarf support. Please install new elfutils-devel/libdw-dev);
                NO_DWARF := 1
 ifeq ($(origin PERF_HAVE_DWARF_REGS), undefined)
        msg := $(warning DWARF register mappings have not been defined for architecture $(ARCH), DWARF support disabled);
 else
-       BASIC_CFLAGS += -DDWARF_SUPPORT
+       BASIC_CFLAGS := -DDWARF_SUPPORT $(LIBDW_CFLAGS) $(BASIC_CFLAGS)
+       BASIC_LDFLAGS := $(LIBDW_LDFLAGS) $(BASIC_LDFLAGS)
        EXTLIBS += -lelf -ldw
        LIB_OBJS += $(OUTPUT)util/probe-finder.o
        LIB_OBJS += $(OUTPUT)util/dwarf-aux.o