diff --git a/cpu/x86/Makefile.x86_common b/cpu/x86/Makefile.x86_common
index 054cfcd68..c243dddcd 100644
--- a/cpu/x86/Makefile.x86_common
+++ b/cpu/x86/Makefile.x86_common
@@ -9,7 +9,14 @@ OBJCOPY  = objcopy
 SIZE     = size
 STRIP    = strip
 
-CFLAGS  += -Wall -fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables
+# Omit exception handling unwind tables (see
+# http://wiki.dwarfstd.org/index.php?title=Exception_Handling).  Removing these
+# tables saves space and has not caused any readily-apparent functional
+# changes.
+#
+# Synchronize the unwind table options here with the CFLAGS and CXXFLAGS in
+# ./bsp/libc/build_newlib.sh.
+CFLAGS  += -Wall -fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables -fno-unwind-tables
 LDFLAGS += -Wl,-Map=contiki-$(TARGET).map,--build-id=none
 
 ifeq ($(BUILD_RELEASE),1)
diff --git a/platform/galileo/bsp/libc/build_newlib.sh b/platform/galileo/bsp/libc/build_newlib.sh
index cee34f3ff..89d3b870c 100755
--- a/platform/galileo/bsp/libc/build_newlib.sh
+++ b/platform/galileo/bsp/libc/build_newlib.sh
@@ -65,8 +65,8 @@ build() {
     export COMPILER_AS_FOR_TARGET=as
     export COMPILER_LD_FOR_TARGET=ld
     export COMPILER_NM_FOR_TARGET=nm
-    export CFLAGS_FOR_TARGET="-Os -m32 -march=i586 -mtune=i586 -fno-stack-protector -DPREFER_SIZE_OVER_SPEED -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections"
-    export CXXFLAGS_FOR_TARGET="-Os -m32 -march=i586 -mtune=i586 -fno-stack-protector -DPREFER_SIZE_OVER_SPEED -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections"
+    export CFLAGS_FOR_TARGET="-Os -m32 -march=i586 -mtune=i586 -fno-stack-protector -DPREFER_SIZE_OVER_SPEED -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections -fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables -fno-unwind-tables"
+    export CXXFLAGS_FOR_TARGET="-Os -m32 -march=i586 -mtune=i586 -fno-stack-protector -DPREFER_SIZE_OVER_SPEED -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections -fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables -fno-unwind-tables"
 
     mkdir -p install
     ./configure --target=${TARGET} \