diff --git a/deps/tools/jlchecksum b/deps/tools/jlchecksum
index 329d3a2a845d4..9945ec89e6bda 100755
--- a/deps/tools/jlchecksum
+++ b/deps/tools/jlchecksum
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ find_checksum()
         fi
     done
     if [ ! -f "$DEPSDIR/checksums/$BASENAME/$CHECKSUM_TYPE" ]; then
-        if [ ${TAGGED_RELEASE_BANNER:-} ]; then
+        if [ "${TAGGED_RELEASE_BANNER:-}" ]; then
             echo "WARNING: $CHECKSUM_TYPE checksum for $BASENAME not found in deps/checksums/, failing release build." >&2
             exit 3
         fi