diff --git a/cfg.mk b/cfg.mk
index c43185caa..2b3745072 100644
--- a/cfg.mk
+++ b/cfg.mk
@@ -134,8 +134,9 @@ sc_prohibit_gethostby:
 
 # Disallow trailing blank lines.
 sc_prohibit_trailing_blank_lines:
-	@$(VC_LIST_EXCEPT) | xargs perl -ln -0777 -e			\
-	  '/\n\n+$$/ and print $$ARGV' > $@-t
+	@$(VC_LIST_EXCEPT)						\
+	  | xargs perl -ln -0777 -e					\
+	      '-f $$ARGV or next; /\n\n+$$/ and print $$ARGV' > $@-t
 	@found=0; test -s $@-t && { found=1; cat $@-t 1>&2;		\
 	  echo '$(ME): found trailing blank line(s)' 1>&2; };		\
 	rm -f $@-t;							\