diff --git a/lib/neutron_plugins/ovs_base b/lib/neutron_plugins/ovs_base
index 95f4663a52..ecf252f88b 100644
--- a/lib/neutron_plugins/ovs_base
+++ b/lib/neutron_plugins/ovs_base
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ function _neutron_ovs_base_install_ubuntu_dkms {
     local kernel_major_minor
     kernel_major_minor=`echo $kernel_version | cut -d. -f1-2`
     # From kernel 3.13 on, openvswitch-datapath-dkms is not needed
-    if vercmp '$kernel_major_minor' '<' '3.13'; then
+    if vercmp "$kernel_major_minor" "<" "3.13" ; then
         install_package "dkms openvswitch-datapath-dkms linux-headers-$kernel_version"
     fi
 }