diff --git a/userspace/include/unit/args.h b/userspace/include/unit/args.h
index c933b7434..5a90af1ed 100644
--- a/userspace/include/unit/args.h
+++ b/userspace/include/unit/args.h
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ struct unit_fw_args {
 	bool		 nvtest;
 	bool		 is_qnx;
 	unsigned int	 test_lvl;
+	bool		 debug;
 	const char	*binary_name;
 
 	const char	*unit_name;
diff --git a/userspace/src/args.c b/userspace/src/args.c
index 2ec6aaf20..d9e126fe6 100644
--- a/userspace/src/args.c
+++ b/userspace/src/args.c
@@ -36,15 +36,14 @@ static struct option core_opts[] = {
 	{ "no-color",		0, NULL, 'C' },
 	{ "nvtest",		0, NULL, 'n' },
 	{ "is-qnx",		0, NULL, 'Q' },
-
 	{ "unit-load-path",	1, NULL, 'L' },
 	{ "num-threads",	1, NULL, 'j' },
 	{ "test-level",		1, NULL, 't' },
-
+	{ "debug",		0, NULL, 'd' },
 	{ NULL,			0, NULL,  0  }
 };
 
-static const char *core_opts_str = "hvqCnQL:j:t:";
+static const char *core_opts_str = "hvqCnQL:j:t:d";
 
 void core_print_help(struct unit_fw *fw)
 {
@@ -73,6 +72,8 @@ void core_print_help(struct unit_fw *fw)
 "                         Number of threads to use while running all tests.\n",
 "  -t, --test-level <LEVEL>\n",
 "                         Test plan level. 0=L0, 1=L1. default: 1\n",
+"  -d, --debug            Disable signal handling to facilitate debug of",
+"                         crashes.\n",
 "\n",
 "Note: mandatory arguments to long arguments are mandatory for short\n",
 "arguments as well.\n",
@@ -162,6 +163,9 @@ int core_parse_args(struct unit_fw *fw, int argc, char **argv)
 				return -1;
 			}
 			break;
+		case 'd':
+			args->debug = true;
+			break;
 		case '?':
 			args->help = true;
 			return -1;
diff --git a/userspace/src/exec.c b/userspace/src/exec.c
index ded1301ee..edc02df8a 100644
--- a/userspace/src/exec.c
+++ b/userspace/src/exec.c
@@ -191,10 +191,11 @@ int core_exec(struct unit_fw *fw)
 	sem_init(&unit_thread_semaphore, 0, fw->args->thread_count);
 
 	/*
-	 * If running single threaded, keep the default SIGSEGV handler to make
-	 * interactive debugging easier, otherwise install the custom one.
+	 * By default, use a custom signal hanlder to catch faults such as
+	 * SIGSEGV. This can be disabled with the -d argument to make it
+	 * easier to investigate with a debugger.
 	 */
-	if (fw->args->thread_count > 1) {
+	if (!fw->args->debug) {
 		err = install_thread_error_handler();
 		if (err != 0) {
 			core_msg_color(fw, C_RED,