diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5638036..9b621a0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -267,6 +267,7 @@ Note that you shouldn't call `overrideAttrs` on a derivation built by Naersk
 | `postInstall` | Optional hook to run after the compilation is done; inside this script, `$out/bin` contains compiled Rust binaries. Useful if your application needs e.g. custom environment variables, in which case you can simply run `wrapProgram $out/bin/your-app-name` in here. Default: `false` |
 | `usePureFromTOML` | Whether to use the `fromTOML` built-in or not. When set to `false` the python package `remarshal` is used instead (in a derivation) and the JSON output is read with `builtins.fromJSON`. This is a workaround for old versions of Nix. May be used safely from Nix 2.3 onwards where all bugs in `builtins.fromTOML` seem to have been fixed. Default: `true` |
 | `mode` | What to do when building the derivation. Either `build`, `check`, `test`, `fmt` or `clippy`. <br/> When set to something other than `build`, no binaries are generated. Default: `"build"` |
+| `autoCrateSpecificOverrides` | Whether to automatically apply crate-specific overrides, mainly additional `buildInputs` for dependencies. <br /> For example, if you use the `openssl` crate, `pkgs.pkg-config` and `pkgs.openssl` are automatically added as buildInputs. Default: `true` |
 
 
 ### Note on `overrideAttrs`
@@ -397,16 +398,3 @@ naersk.buildPackage {
 ```
 
 ([context](https://github.com/nix-community/naersk/pull/288))
-
-### Using OpenSSL
-
-If your application uses OpenSSL (making the build process fail), try:
-
-```nix
-naersk.buildPackage {
-  # ...
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = with pkgs; [ pkg-config ];
-  buildInputs = with pkgs; [ openssl ];
-}
-```
diff --git a/README.tpl.md b/README.tpl.md
index 45e515d..6effdc9 100644
--- a/README.tpl.md
+++ b/README.tpl.md
@@ -359,16 +359,3 @@ naersk.buildPackage {
 ```
 
 ([context](https://github.com/nix-community/naersk/pull/288))
-
-### Using OpenSSL
-
-If your application uses OpenSSL (making the build process fail), try:
-
-```nix
-naersk.buildPackage {
-  # ...
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = with pkgs; [ pkg-config ];
-  buildInputs = with pkgs; [ openssl ];
-}
-```
diff --git a/build.nix b/build.nix
index f1552c4..f05cd2c 100644
--- a/build.nix
+++ b/build.nix
@@ -68,6 +68,10 @@
 , fetchurl
 , lndir
 , userAttrs
+  #| Some additional buildInputs/overrides individual crates require
+, crateSpecificOverrides
+, autoCrateSpecificOverrides
+, pkgs
 }:
 
 let
@@ -130,14 +134,16 @@ let
       jq
       rsync
     ] ++ nativeBuildInputs
-      ++ lib.optionals (mode == "clippy") [clippy];
+      ++ lib.optionals (mode == "clippy") [clippy]
+      ++ neededCrateSpecificOverrides.nativeBuildInputs;
 
     buildInputs = lib.optionals stdenv.isDarwin [
       darwin.Security
       darwin.apple_sdk.frameworks.CoreServices
       darwin.cf-private
       darwin.libiconv
-    ] ++ buildInputs;
+    ] ++ buildInputs
+      ++ neededCrateSpecificOverrides.buildInputs;
 
     inherit builtDependencies;
 
@@ -374,6 +380,33 @@ let
     };
   };
 
+  # Crate-specific overrides needed for this build.
+  # They are merged from all the overrides of `cratesIoDependencies` defined in the `crate_specific.nix` file
+  #
+  # This can contain fields: `buildInputs`, `nativeBuildInputs`
+  # When changing them (eg. adding support for new ones/removing some), also update the comment in the `crate_specific.nix` file
+  neededCrateSpecificOverrides =
+    let
+      overridesList = builtins.map
+        ( crateInfo:
+          if builtins.hasAttr crateInfo.name crateSpecificOverrides then
+            crateSpecificOverrides.${crateInfo.name} { inherit crateInfo; }
+          else {}
+        )
+        cratesIoDependencies;
+      emptyOverrides = { buildInputs = []; nativeBuildInputs = []; };
+    in if autoCrateSpecificOverrides then
+      builtins.foldl'
+        (acc: elem:
+          {
+            buildInputs =       acc.buildInputs       ++ elem.buildInputs or [];
+            nativeBuildInputs = acc.nativeBuildInputs ++ elem.nativeBuildInputs or [];
+          }
+        )
+        emptyOverrides
+        overridesList
+      else emptyOverrides;
+
   # Crates.io dependencies required to compile user's crate.
   #
   # As an output, for each dependency, this derivation produces a subdirectory
diff --git a/config.nix b/config.nix
index 730018b..2d2ce05 100644
--- a/config.nix
+++ b/config.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ lib, libb, builtinz, arg }:
+{ lib, libb, builtinz, arg, pkgs }:
 let
   allowFun = attrs0: attrName: default:
     if builtins.hasAttr attrName attrs0 then
@@ -200,6 +200,12 @@ let
     # What to do when building the derivation. Either `build`, `check`, `test`, `fmt` or `clippy`. <br/>
     # When set to something other than `build`, no binaries are generated.
     mode = attrs0.mode or "build";
+
+    # Whether to automatically apply crate-specific overrides, mainly additional
+    # `buildInputs` for dependencies. <br />
+    # For example, if you use the `openssl` crate, `pkgs.pkg-config` and
+    # `pkgs.openssl` are automatically added as buildInputs.
+    autoCrateSpecificOverrides = attrs0.autoCrateSpecificOverrides or true;
   };
 
   argIsAttrs =
@@ -302,6 +308,7 @@ let
       cargoDocOptions
       copyDocsToSeparateOutput
       removeReferencesToSrcFromDocs
+      autoCrateSpecificOverrides
 
       postInstall
       ;
@@ -311,6 +318,8 @@ let
     # Example:
     #   [ { name = "wabt", version = "2.0.6", sha256 = "..." } ]
     cratesIoDependencies = libb.mkVersions buildPlanConfig.cargolock;
+
+    crateSpecificOverrides = import ./crate_specific.nix { inherit pkgs; };
   };
 
   # config used when planning the builds
diff --git a/crate_specific.nix b/crate_specific.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5554625
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crate_specific.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# This file contains crate-specific build inputs.
+#
+# Each of them is an attribute with name of the crate and value being a function.
+# This function gets as arguments:
+#  - `crateInfo` with information about the crate, such as sha256 or version
+#
+# Currently supported fields to return are: `buildInputs`, `nativeBuildInputs`
+
+{ pkgs }:
+
+{
+    openssl-sys = { ... }: {
+        nativeBuildInputs = with pkgs; [ pkg-config ];
+        buildInputs = with pkgs; [ openssl ];
+    };
+}
diff --git a/default.nix b/default.nix
index a377938..1bc1383 100644
--- a/default.nix
+++ b/default.nix
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 , writeText
 , zstd
 , clippy
+, pkgs
 }@defaultBuildAttrs:
 
 let
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ let
     { inherit lib writeText remarshal runCommandLocal formats; };
 
   mkConfig = arg:
-    import ./config.nix { inherit lib arg libb builtinz; };
+    import ./config.nix { inherit lib arg libb builtinz pkgs; };
 
   buildPackage = arg:
     let
diff --git a/test/fast/default.nix b/test/fast/default.nix
index 3eb1091..6d3ec51 100644
--- a/test/fast/default.nix
+++ b/test/fast/default.nix
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ args: {
   git-dep-dup = import ./git-dep-dup args;
   git-single-repository-with-multiple-crates = import ./git-single-repository-with-multiple-crates args;
   git-symlink = import ./git-symlink args;
+  openssl = import ./openssl args;
   post-install-hook = import ./post-install-hook args;
   readme = import ./readme args;
   simple-dep = import ./simple-dep args;
diff --git a/test/fast/openssl/default.nix b/test/fast/openssl/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87acbf4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fast/openssl/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# OpenSSL needs `pkg-config` and `openssl` buildInputs. This tests whether we correctly supply them automatically.
+
+{ naersk, pkgs, ... }:
+
+let
+  # Whether the nixpkgs is version 23 or newer, because in older nixpkgs, rustc is too old to build openssl.
+  buildIt = with pkgs.lib;
+    (strings.toInt ((builtins.elemAt (splitString "." trivial.version) 0)) >= 23);
+in
+
+if buildIt then
+  naersk.buildPackage {
+    src = ./fixtures;
+    doCheck = true;
+  }
+else
+  builtins.trace ''
+      Not building OpenSSL test, because Rust from nixpkgs under major version 23 cannot build OpenSSL
+      Current nixpkgs version: ${pkgs.lib.trivial.version}
+    ''
+
+    pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+      name = "not-building-openssl-test";
+
+      dontUnpack = true;
+
+      buildPhase = ''
+        echo Not building OpenSSL test, because Rust from nixpkgs under major version 23 cannot build OpenSSL
+        echo Current nixpkgs version: ${pkgs.lib.trivial.version}
+      '';
+
+      installPhase = "mkdir $out";
+    }
diff --git a/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/Cargo.lock b/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/Cargo.lock
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3edf39c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/Cargo.lock
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+# This file is automatically @generated by Cargo.
+# It is not intended for manual editing.
+version = 3
+
+[[package]]
+name = "bitflags"
+version = "2.5.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "cf4b9d6a944f767f8e5e0db018570623c85f3d925ac718db4e06d0187adb21c1"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "cc"
+version = "1.0.97"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "099a5357d84c4c61eb35fc8eafa9a79a902c2f76911e5747ced4e032edd8d9b4"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "cfg-if"
+version = "1.0.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "baf1de4339761588bc0619e3cbc0120ee582ebb74b53b4efbf79117bd2da40fd"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "foreign-types"
+version = "0.3.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "f6f339eb8adc052cd2ca78910fda869aefa38d22d5cb648e6485e4d3fc06f3b1"
+dependencies = [
+ "foreign-types-shared",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "foreign-types-shared"
+version = "0.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "00b0228411908ca8685dba7fc2cdd70ec9990a6e753e89b6ac91a84c40fbaf4b"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "libc"
+version = "0.2.154"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "ae743338b92ff9146ce83992f766a31066a91a8c84a45e0e9f21e7cf6de6d346"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "once_cell"
+version = "1.19.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3fdb12b2476b595f9358c5161aa467c2438859caa136dec86c26fdd2efe17b92"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl"
+version = "0.10.64"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "95a0481286a310808298130d22dd1fef0fa571e05a8f44ec801801e84b216b1f"
+dependencies = [
+ "bitflags",
+ "cfg-if",
+ "foreign-types",
+ "libc",
+ "once_cell",
+ "openssl-macros",
+ "openssl-sys",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl-macros"
+version = "0.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a948666b637a0f465e8564c73e89d4dde00d72d4d473cc972f390fc3dcee7d9c"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "quote",
+ "syn",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl-sys"
+version = "0.9.102"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "c597637d56fbc83893a35eb0dd04b2b8e7a50c91e64e9493e398b5df4fb45fa2"
+dependencies = [
+ "cc",
+ "libc",
+ "pkg-config",
+ "vcpkg",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "openssl-test"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "openssl",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "pkg-config"
+version = "0.3.30"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "d231b230927b5e4ad203db57bbcbee2802f6bce620b1e4a9024a07d94e2907ec"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "proc-macro2"
+version = "1.0.82"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "8ad3d49ab951a01fbaafe34f2ec74122942fe18a3f9814c3268f1bb72042131b"
+dependencies = [
+ "unicode-ident",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "quote"
+version = "1.0.36"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "0fa76aaf39101c457836aec0ce2316dbdc3ab723cdda1c6bd4e6ad4208acaca7"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "syn"
+version = "2.0.64"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7ad3dee41f36859875573074334c200d1add8e4a87bb37113ebd31d926b7b11f"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "quote",
+ "unicode-ident",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "unicode-ident"
+version = "1.0.12"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "3354b9ac3fae1ff6755cb6db53683adb661634f67557942dea4facebec0fee4b"
+
+[[package]]
+name = "vcpkg"
+version = "0.2.15"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "accd4ea62f7bb7a82fe23066fb0957d48ef677f6eeb8215f372f52e48bb32426"
diff --git a/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/Cargo.toml b/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d69e97d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# Tests that default-run doesn't break the dependency build, see
+# https://github.com/nmattia/naersk/issues/123
+
+[package]
+name = "openssl-test"
+version = "0.1.0"
+authors = ["FireFragment <55660550+FireFragment@users.noreply.github.com>"]
+edition = "2018"
+
+[dependencies]
+openssl = "0.10.64"
diff --git a/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/src/main.rs b/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e7a11a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fast/openssl/fixtures/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+fn main() {
+    println!("Hello, world!");
+}