diff --git a/builtin/receive-pack.c b/builtin/receive-pack.c
index 36f0da37f7..b947bd60e1 100644
--- a/builtin/receive-pack.c
+++ b/builtin/receive-pack.c
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ static void merge_worktree(unsigned char *sha1)
 	if (is_bare_repository())
 		die ("denyCurrentBranch = updateInstead needs a worktree");
 
-	strbuf_addf(&git_env, "GIT_DIR=%s", make_absolute_path(get_git_dir()));
+	strbuf_addf(&git_env, "GIT_DIR=%s", absolute_path(get_git_dir()));
 	env[0] = git_env.buf;
 	env[1] = NULL;