diff --git a/rules/common_settings.bzl b/rules/common_settings.bzl
index 4e9bcaa5..b2197b01 100644
--- a/rules/common_settings.bzl
+++ b/rules/common_settings.bzl
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ _MAKE_VARIABLE_ATTR = attr.string(
 
 _SCOPE_ATTR = attr.string(
     doc = "The scope indicates where a flag can propagate to",
-    default = "universal",
+    default = "target",
 )
 
 def _is_valid_make_variable_char(c):