diff --git a/include/common/defaults.h b/include/common/defaults.h
index 0a4f420..8647131 100644
--- a/include/common/defaults.h
+++ b/include/common/defaults.h
@@ -58,9 +58,9 @@
 #define	MAX_MATCH       10
 
 // max # of headers in one HTTP request or response
-// By default, about 100 headers per 8 kB.
+// By default, about 100 headers (+1 for the first line)
 #ifndef MAX_HTTP_HDR
-#define MAX_HTTP_HDR    ((BUFSIZE+79)/80)
+#define MAX_HTTP_HDR    101
 #endif
 
 // max # of headers in history when looking for header #-X
diff --git a/include/types/global.h b/include/types/global.h
index 078a1d5..56110e8 100644
--- a/include/types/global.h
+++ b/include/types/global.h
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@
 		int server_rcvbuf; /* set server rcvbuf to this value if not null */
 		int chksize;       /* check buffer size in bytes, defaults to BUFSIZE */
 		int pipesize;      /* pipe size in bytes, system defaults if zero */
+		int max_http_hdr;  /* max number of HTTP headers, use MAX_HTTP_HDR if zero */
 	} tune;
 	struct {
 		char *prefix;           /* path prefix of unix bind socket */
diff --git a/include/types/proto_http.h b/include/types/proto_http.h
index d9bf830..f1b3eef 100644
--- a/include/types/proto_http.h
+++ b/include/types/proto_http.h
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@
  */
 struct http_txn {
 	struct http_msg req;            /* HTTP request message */
-	struct hdr_idx hdr_idx;         /* array of header indexes (max: MAX_HTTP_HDR) */
+	struct hdr_idx hdr_idx;         /* array of header indexes (max: global.tune.max_http_hdr) */
 	unsigned int flags;             /* transaction flags */
 	http_meth_t meth;               /* HTTP method */