diff --git a/hack/verify-generated-files-remake.sh b/hack/verify-generated-files-remake.sh
index 7a252f8d951..ea08b741565 100755
--- a/hack/verify-generated-files-remake.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-generated-files-remake.sh
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/init.sh"
 
 kube::util::ensure_clean_working_dir
 
-_tmpdir="$(kube::realpath $(mktemp -d -t verify-generated-files.XXXXXX))"
+_tmpdir="$(kube::realpath "$(mktemp -d -t verify-generated-files.XXXXXX)")"
 kube::util::trap_add "rm -rf ${_tmpdir}" EXIT
 
 _tmp_gopath="${_tmpdir}/go"