diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/analysis/config/BuildConfiguration.java b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/analysis/config/BuildConfiguration.java
index 7314f329bf8547..66dea6b43b3e60 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/analysis/config/BuildConfiguration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/analysis/config/BuildConfiguration.java
@@ -882,7 +882,7 @@ public enum ConfigsMode {
 
     @Option(
         name = "incompatible_disable_late_bound_option_defaults",
-        defaultValue = "false",
+        defaultValue = "true",
         documentationCategory = OptionDocumentationCategory.UNDOCUMENTED,
         effectTags = {OptionEffectTag.LOADING_AND_ANALYSIS, OptionEffectTag.AFFECTS_OUTPUTS},
         metadataTags = {
diff --git a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/rules/config/ConfigSettingTest.java b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/rules/config/ConfigSettingTest.java
index 4744d81f97b817..67c9c6b27769ff 100644
--- a/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/rules/config/ConfigSettingTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/rules/config/ConfigSettingTest.java
@@ -252,6 +252,7 @@ public void emptySettings() throws Exception {
    */
   @Test
   public void lateBoundOptionDefaults() throws Exception {
+    useConfiguration("--incompatible_disable_late_bound_option_defaults=false");
     scratch.file("test/BUILD",
         "config_setting(",
         "    name = 'match',",