diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libversion/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libversion/default.nix
index e1dc591f8b5..cee04fa79e4 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libversion/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libversion/default.nix
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   nativeBuildInputs = [ cmake ];
 
   preCheck = ''
-    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/build/source/build/libversion/:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
+    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/build/source/build/libversion/''${LD_LIBRARY_PATH:+:}$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
   '';
   doCheck = true;
   checkTarget = "test";