diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/freebsd/make-bootstrap-tools.nix b/pkgs/stdenv/freebsd/make-bootstrap-tools.nix
index fe133eb72a56..91980364167c 100644
--- a/pkgs/stdenv/freebsd/make-bootstrap-tools.nix
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/freebsd/make-bootstrap-tools.nix
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
         rm -f $base/nix-support/propagated-build-inputs
         for f in $requisites; do
           cd $f
-          rsync --chmod="+w" -av . $base
+          rsync --safe-links --chmod="+w" -av . $base
         done
         cd $base