diff --git a/release/tools/vmimage.subr b/release/tools/vmimage.subr
index 0e7edb97854..c2b2e21200f 100644
--- a/release/tools/vmimage.subr
+++ b/release/tools/vmimage.subr
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ vm_extra_install_packages() {
 	mount -t devfs devfs ${DESTDIR}/dev
 	chroot ${DESTDIR} ${EMULATOR} env ASSUME_ALWAYS_YES=yes \
 		/usr/sbin/pkg bootstrap -y
-	for p in ${ASSUME_ALWAYS_YES}; do
+	for p in ${VM_EXTRA_PACKAGES}; do
 		chroot ${DESTDIR} ${EMULATOR} env ASSUME_ALWAYS_YES=yes \
 			/usr/sbin/pkg install -y ${p}
 	done