diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 3480d79db3..85b8e10b84 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ include:
   image: $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE/qemu/$IMAGE:latest
   script:
     - scripts/git-submodule.sh update
-        $(grep GIT_SUBMODULES build/config-host.mak | sed 's/GIT_SUBMODULES=//')
+        $(sed -n '/GIT_SUBMODULES=/ s/.*=// p' build/config-host.mak)
     - cd build
     - find . -type f -exec touch {} +
     # Avoid recompiling by hiding ninja with NINJA=":"