diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/abi.py b/lib/spack/spack/abi.py
index 1f7e16cfdb1..ce31ebecbb2 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/abi.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/abi.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ def _gcc_get_libstdcxx_version(self, version):
             return None
         if not output:
             return None
-        libpath = os.readlink(output.strip())
+        libpath = os.path.realpath(output.strip())
         if not libpath:
             return None
         return os.path.basename(libpath)