diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
index 4b24c25230a..41ce4684962 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/binutils/default.nix
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     # Use symlinks instead of hard links to save space ("strip" in the
     # fixup phase strips each hard link separately).
     for i in binutils/Makefile.in gas/Makefile.in ld/Makefile.in; do
-        set -i "$i" 's|ln |ln -s |'
+        sed -i "$i" -e 's|ln |ln -s |'
     done
   '';