diff --git a/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/grub/install-grub.pl b/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/grub/install-grub.pl
index af39e50ff72d..b8ef02da4bc2 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/grub/install-grub.pl
+++ b/nixos/modules/system/boot/loader/grub/install-grub.pl
@@ -387,6 +387,10 @@ sub addProfile {
     my $curEntry = 0;
     foreach my $link (@links) {
         last if $curEntry++ >= $configurationLimit;
+        if (! -e "$link/nixos-version") {
+            warn "skipping corrupt system profile entry ‘$link’\n";
+            next;
+        }
         my $date = strftime("%F", localtime(lstat($link)->mtime));
         my $version =
             -e "$link/nixos-version"