diff --git a/lustre/tests/test-framework.sh b/lustre/tests/test-framework.sh
index 879adf45641540410e0bad9007ba6713abff933e..68d5a5c5d6941f966961cabcb2bc1eded5b88fde 100644
--- a/lustre/tests/test-framework.sh
+++ b/lustre/tests/test-framework.sh
@@ -1717,7 +1717,7 @@ 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 
 }