diff --git a/spectre-meltdown-checker.sh b/spectre-meltdown-checker.sh
index d7673a4..dd72c3e 100755
--- a/spectre-meltdown-checker.sh
+++ b/spectre-meltdown-checker.sh
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ parse_opt_file()
 		show_header
 		echo "$0: error: $option_value is not a file" >&2
 		exit 1
-	elif [ ! -e "$option_value" ]; then
+	elif [ ! -r "$option_value" ]; then
 		show_header
 		echo "$0: error: couldn't read $option_value (are you root?)" >&2
 		exit 1