diff --git a/cpu/native/rtc/posix-rtc.c b/cpu/native/rtc/posix-rtc.c
index 25f6cdf65f..f2d25c4995 100644
--- a/cpu/native/rtc/posix-rtc.c
+++ b/cpu/native/rtc/posix-rtc.c
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include "debug.h"
 
 #include "rtc.h"
+#include "cpu.h"
 
 static int native_rtc_enabled;
 
@@ -58,10 +59,12 @@ void rtc_get_localtime(struct tm *localt)
     time_t t;
 
     if (native_rtc_enabled == 1) {
+        _native_in_syscall++;
         t = time(NULL);
 
         if (localtime_r(&t, localt) == NULL) {
             err(1, "rtc_get_localtime: localtime_r");
         }
+        _native_in_syscall--;
     }
 }