diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/ab/abuild/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/ab/abuild/package.nix
index a6ad5b1f90bb..33d2495bbcab 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/ab/abuild/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/ab/abuild/package.nix
@@ -53,7 +53,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
 
   patchPhase = ''
     substituteInPlace ./Makefile \
-      --replace 'chmod 4555' '#chmod 4555'
+      --replace 'chmod 4555' '#chmod 4555' \
+      --replace 'pkg-config' "$PKG_CONFIG"
   '';
 
   makeFlags = [