diff --git a/configs/qemu_aarch64_ebbr_defconfig b/configs/qemu_aarch64_ebbr_defconfig
index a0d8105c43..d293ad0e60 100644
--- a/configs/qemu_aarch64_ebbr_defconfig
+++ b/configs/qemu_aarch64_ebbr_defconfig
@@ -48,3 +48,7 @@ BR2_TARGET_UBOOT_NEEDS_OPENSSL=y
 BR2_PACKAGE_HOST_DOSFSTOOLS=y
 BR2_PACKAGE_HOST_GENIMAGE=y
 BR2_PACKAGE_HOST_MTOOLS=y
+
+# host-qemu for gitlab testing
+BR2_PACKAGE_HOST_QEMU=y
+BR2_PACKAGE_HOST_QEMU_SYSTEM_MODE=y