diff --git a/arch/sim/src/sim/CMakeLists.txt b/arch/sim/src/sim/CMakeLists.txt
index d7f5e2b12cb..9653f13db0b 100644
--- a/arch/sim/src/sim/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/arch/sim/src/sim/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -140,6 +140,15 @@ list(
   sim_hosttime.c
   sim_hostuart.c)
 
+# Note: sim_macho_init.c is picky about the place in the object list for
+# linking. Namely, its constructor should be the first one in the executable.
+# For now, we are just assuming no other files in HOSTSRCS provide constructors.
+if(CONFIG_HOST_MACOS)
+  if(CONFIG_HAVE_CXXINITIALIZE)
+    list(APPEND HOSTSRCS sim_macho_init.c)
+  endif()
+endif()
+
 if(CONFIG_SIM_CAMERA_V4L2)
   list(APPEND HOSTSRCS sim_host_v4l2.c)
   list(APPEND SRCS sim_camera.c)