diff --git a/build/make/version.sh b/build/make/version.sh
index b340142c9..696752777 100755
--- a/build/make/version.sh
+++ b/build/make/version.sh
@@ -24,8 +24,9 @@ out_file=${2}
 id=${3:-VERSION_STRING}
 
 git_version_id=""
-if [ -d "${source_path}/.git" ]; then
+if [ -e "${source_path}/.git" ]; then
     # Source Path is a git working copy. Check for local modifications.
+    # Note that git submodules may have a file as .git, not a directory.
     export GIT_DIR="${source_path}/.git"
     git_version_id=`git describe --match=v[0-9]* 2>/dev/null`
 fi