diff --git a/lustre/tests/test-framework.sh b/lustre/tests/test-framework.sh
index afd55518a05e256b235cfb116a253eba9efc711b..626eb08ea1669abe24861a5a86ec28b08e7b41a3 100644
--- a/lustre/tests/test-framework.sh
+++ b/lustre/tests/test-framework.sh
@@ -1930,7 +1930,7 @@ check_catastrophe () {
 
     [ -f $CATASTROPHE ] && [ `cat $CATASTROPHE` -ne 0 ] && return 1
     if [ $rnodes ]; then
-        do_nodes $rnodes "[ -f $CATASTROPHE ] && { [ `cat $CATASTROPHE` -eq 0 ] || false; } || true"
+        do_nodes $rnodes "[ -f $CATASTROPHE ] && { [ \`cat $CATASTROPHE\` -eq 0 ] || false; } || true"
     fi 
 }