diff --git a/includes/bootstrap.inc b/includes/bootstrap.inc
index 7096667..2b2b0e6 100644
--- a/includes/bootstrap.inc
+++ b/includes/bootstrap.inc
@@ -17,8 +17,16 @@ define('DRUPAL_CORE_COMPATIBILITY', '7.x');
 
 /**
  * Minimum supported version of PHP.
+ *
+ * @todo: Hacked this value to PHP 5.3 due to this core bug:
+ * http://drupal.org/node/1724130
+ *
+ * Note that Drupal 8 requires PHP 5.3.3, but this requirement is laxed to
+ * 5.3.2 here so that Spark will work on Ubuntu LTS and similar distros. The
+ * 5.3.3 requirement works for Drupal 8, slated for release late next year, but
+ * not for Spark, which needs to work now.
  */
-define('DRUPAL_MINIMUM_PHP', '5.2.4');
+define('DRUPAL_MINIMUM_PHP', '5.3.2');
 
 /**
  * Minimum recommended value of PHP memory_limit.