diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index b993741183..830fa5a234 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -299,7 +299,11 @@ qemu-version.h: FORCE
 				printf '""\n'; \
 			fi; \
 		fi) > $@.tmp)
-	$(call quiet-command, cmp -s $@ $@.tmp || mv $@.tmp $@)
+	$(call quiet-command, if ! cmp -s $@ $@.tmp; then \
+	  mv $@.tmp $@; \
+	 else \
+	  rm $@.tmp; \
+	 fi)
 
 config-host.h: config-host.h-timestamp
 config-host.h-timestamp: config-host.mak