diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/vm/Makefile b/tools/testing/selftests/vm/Makefile
index 4cff7e7ddcc4..41642ba5e318 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/vm/Makefile
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/vm/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Makefile for vm selftests
 
+ifndef OUTPUT
+  OUTPUT := $(shell pwd)
+endif
+
 CFLAGS = -Wall -I ../../../../usr/include $(EXTRA_CFLAGS)
 LDLIBS = -lrt
 TEST_GEN_FILES = compaction_test