diff --git a/target/linux/malta/Makefile b/target/linux/malta/Makefile
index 06cb68aee4..c9f1586aaa 100644
--- a/target/linux/malta/Makefile
+++ b/target/linux/malta/Makefile
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ include $(TOPDIR)/rules.mk
 
 BOARD:=malta
 BOARDNAME:=MIPS Malta CoreLV board (qemu)
+CPU_TYPE:=24kc
 SUBTARGETS:=le be #le64 be64
 INITRAMFS_EXTRA_FILES:=
 MAINTAINER:=Florian Fainelli <florian@openwrt.org>