diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c65d2e4ec..2fe156840 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@ SoC may be running SPDK on the SoC. That SoC has its own local memory, but SPDK
 devices that can also access the host system memory. This library provides infrastructure to enumerate
 the memory domains and request hardware perform DMA transfers between them.
 
+### event
+
+Added the `disable_signal_handlers` flag to the `spdk_app_opts` struct.
+
 ### log
 
 Added API `spdk_log_to_syslog_level` to return syslog level based on SPDK's
diff --git a/include/spdk/event.h b/include/spdk/event.h
index 74c946728..50978a587 100644
--- a/include/spdk/event.h
+++ b/include/spdk/event.h
@@ -137,6 +137,16 @@ struct spdk_app_opts {
 	 * After that, new added fields should be put after opts_size.
 	 */
 	size_t opts_size;
+
+	/**
+	 * Disable default signal handlers.
+	 * If set to `true`, the shutdown process is not started implicitly by
+	 * process signals, hence the application is responsible for calling
+	 * spdk_app_start_shutdown().
+	 *
+	 * Default is `false`.
+	 */
+	bool disable_signal_handlers;
 };
 
 /**
diff --git a/lib/event/Makefile b/lib/event/Makefile
index 02b9664bc..6cbdab07b 100644
--- a/lib/event/Makefile
+++ b/lib/event/Makefile
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@
 SPDK_ROOT_DIR := $(abspath $(CURDIR)/../..)
 include $(SPDK_ROOT_DIR)/mk/spdk.common.mk
 
-SO_VER := 9
-SO_MINOR := 1
+SO_VER := 10
+SO_MINOR := 0
 
 CFLAGS += $(ENV_CFLAGS)
 
diff --git a/lib/event/app.c b/lib/event/app.c
index cfdefd781..2a6d6b0e0 100644
--- a/lib/event/app.c
+++ b/lib/event/app.c
@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ spdk_app_opts_init(struct spdk_app_opts *opts, size_t opts_size)
 	SET_FIELD(rpc_addr, SPDK_DEFAULT_RPC_ADDR);
 	SET_FIELD(num_entries, SPDK_APP_DEFAULT_NUM_TRACE_ENTRIES);
 	SET_FIELD(delay_subsystem_init, false);
+	SET_FIELD(disable_signal_handlers, false);
 #undef SET_FIELD
 }
 
@@ -460,10 +461,11 @@ app_copy_opts(struct spdk_app_opts *opts, struct spdk_app_opts *opts_user, size_
 	SET_FIELD(env_context);
 	SET_FIELD(log);
 	SET_FIELD(base_virtaddr);
+	SET_FIELD(disable_signal_handlers);
 
 	/* You should not remove this statement, but need to update the assert statement
 	 * if you add a new field, and also add a corresponding SET_FIELD statement */
-	SPDK_STATIC_ASSERT(sizeof(struct spdk_app_opts) == 184, "Incorrect size");
+	SPDK_STATIC_ASSERT(sizeof(struct spdk_app_opts) == 192, "Incorrect size");
 
 #undef SET_FIELD
 }
@@ -569,7 +571,7 @@ spdk_app_start(struct spdk_app_opts *opts_user, spdk_msg_fn start_fn,
 		return 1;
 	}
 
-	if (app_setup_signal_handlers(opts) != 0) {
+	if (!opts->disable_signal_handlers && app_setup_signal_handlers(opts) != 0) {
 		return 1;
 	}