diff --git a/init/Kconfig b/init/Kconfig
index 8cb97f141b70..11f8a845f259 100644
--- a/init/Kconfig
+++ b/init/Kconfig
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ config COMPILE_TEST
 
 config WERROR
 	bool "Compile the kernel with warnings as errors"
-	default y
+	default COMPILE_TEST
 	help
 	  A kernel build should not cause any compiler warnings, and this
 	  enables the '-Werror' flag to enforce that rule by default.