diff --git a/GIT-VERSION-GEN b/GIT-VERSION-GEN
index 59219bd6a..e45513dee 100755
--- a/GIT-VERSION-GEN
+++ b/GIT-VERSION-GEN
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ if test -f version
 then
 	VN=$(cat version) || VN="$DEF_VER"
 elif test -d .git -o -f .git &&
-	VN=$(git describe --abbrev=4 HEAD 2>/dev/null) &&
+	VN=$(git describe --match "v[0-9]*" --abbrev=4 HEAD 2>/dev/null) &&
 	case "$VN" in
 	*$LF*) (exit 1) ;;
 	v[0-9]*)