diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index a42bd7a1e..168bd744b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ CONFIGURE := configure
 PKG       := $(shell sed -ne 's/^[Nn]ame:[[:space:]]*//p' $(CABAL) | tr A-Z a-z)
 VERSION   := $(shell sed -ne 's/^[Vv]ersion:[[:space:]]*//p' $(CABAL))
 PKGID     := $(PKG)-$(VERSION)
-EXECSBASE := $(shell sed -ne 's/^[Ee]xecutable:\?[[:space:]]*//p' $(CABAL))
+EXECSBASE := $(shell sed -ne 's/^[Ee]xecutable:\{0,1\}[[:space:]]*//p' $(CABAL))
 
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Install targets