diff --git a/tools/perf/util/symbol.c b/tools/perf/util/symbol.c
index e142c21ae9a..469c0264ed2 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/symbol.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/symbol.c
@@ -1506,7 +1506,7 @@ int dso__load(struct dso *dso, struct map *map, symbol_filter_t filter)
 	if (strncmp(dso->name, "/tmp/perf-", 10) == 0) {
 		struct stat st;
 
-		if (stat(dso->name, &st) < 0)
+		if (lstat(dso->name, &st) < 0)
 			return -1;
 
 		if (st.st_uid && (st.st_uid != geteuid())) {