diff --git a/src/install.c b/src/install.c
index 5dcdf031a..3c9fbee59 100644
--- a/src/install.c
+++ b/src/install.c
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)
 {
   int optc;
   int errors = 0;
-  char *symbolic_mode = NULL;
+  const char *symbolic_mode = NULL;
   int make_backups = 0;
   char *version;
   int mkdir_and_install = 0;