diff --git a/dir.c b/dir.c
index 225fdfb52c..11a4cf3e16 100644
--- a/dir.c
+++ b/dir.c
@@ -690,11 +690,10 @@ int read_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, const char *path, const char *base, i
 	return dir->nr;
 }
 
-int
-file_exists(const char *f)
+int file_exists(const char *f)
 {
-  struct stat sb;
-  return stat(f, &sb) == 0;
+	struct stat sb;
+	return lstat(f, &sb) == 0;
 }
 
 /*