diff --git a/package/linux-headers/linux-headers.mk b/package/linux-headers/linux-headers.mk
index 2361e40ac7..7b3edf4731 100644
--- a/package/linux-headers/linux-headers.mk
+++ b/package/linux-headers/linux-headers.mk
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ endef
 ifeq ($(BR2_KERNEL_HEADERS_VERSION),y)
 define LINUX_HEADERS_CHECK_VERSION
 	$(call check_kernel_headers_version,\
-		"$(TARGET_CC) $(TOOLCHAIN_EXTERNAL_CFLAGS)",\
+		$(STAGING_DIR),\
 		$(call qstrip,$(BR2_TOOLCHAIN_HEADERS_AT_LEAST)))
 endef
 LINUX_HEADERS_POST_INSTALL_STAGING_HOOKS += LINUX_HEADERS_CHECK_VERSION
diff --git a/support/scripts/check-kernel-headers.sh b/support/scripts/check-kernel-headers.sh
index 2a0a301eda..82cf9ac274 100755
--- a/support/scripts/check-kernel-headers.sh
+++ b/support/scripts/check-kernel-headers.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-CC="${1}"
+SYSROOT="${1}"
 # Make sure we have enough version components
 HDR_VER="${2}.0.0"
 
@@ -10,15 +10,6 @@ HDR_m="${HDR_V%%.*}"
 
 EXEC="$(mktemp --tmpdir check-headers.XXXXXX)"
 
-# By the time we get here, we do not always have the staging-dir
-# already populated (think external toolchain), so we can not use
-# it.
-# So we just ask the cross compiler what its default sysroot is.
-# For multilib-aware toolchains where we should use a non-default
-# sysroot, it's not really a problem since the version of the kernel
-# headers is the same for all sysroots.
-SYSROOT=$(${CC} -print-sysroot)
-
 # We do not want to account for the patch-level, since headers are
 # not supposed to change for different patchlevels, so we mask it out.
 # This only applies to kernels >= 3.0, but those are the only one
diff --git a/toolchain/helpers.mk b/toolchain/helpers.mk
index 68759163e6..9595196e9b 100644
--- a/toolchain/helpers.mk
+++ b/toolchain/helpers.mk
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ copy_toolchain_sysroot = \
 # Check the specified kernel headers version actually matches the
 # version in the toolchain.
 #
-# $1: cross-gcc path
+# $1: sysroot directory
 # $2: kernel version string, in the form: X.Y
 #
 check_kernel_headers_version = \
diff --git a/toolchain/toolchain-external/toolchain-external.mk b/toolchain/toolchain-external/toolchain-external.mk
index 547d55df26..1424c23ef7 100644
--- a/toolchain/toolchain-external/toolchain-external.mk
+++ b/toolchain/toolchain-external/toolchain-external.mk
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@ define TOOLCHAIN_EXTERNAL_CONFIGURE_CMDS
 	fi ; \
 	if [ "$(BR2_TOOLCHAIN_EXTERNAL_CUSTOM)" = "y" ]; then \
 		$(call check_kernel_headers_version,\
-			"$(TOOLCHAIN_EXTERNAL_CC) $(TOOLCHAIN_EXTERNAL_CFLAGS)",\
+			$(call toolchain_find_sysroot,$(TOOLCHAIN_EXTERNAL_CC) $(TOOLCHAIN_EXTERNAL_CFLAGS)),\
 			$(call qstrip,$(BR2_TOOLCHAIN_HEADERS_AT_LEAST))); \
 	fi ; \
 	if test "$(BR2_arm)" = "y" ; then \