diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 416e6b1eb4b8..646c5d99d7df 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -996,17 +996,9 @@ export KBUILD_ALLDIRS := $(sort $(filter-out arch/%,$(vmlinux-alldirs)) arch Doc
 
 vmlinux-deps := $(KBUILD_LDS) $(KBUILD_VMLINUX_INIT) $(KBUILD_VMLINUX_MAIN) $(KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS)
 
-# Include targets which we want to execute sequentially if the rest of the
-# kernel build went well. If CONFIG_TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS is set, this might be
-# evaluated more than once.
-PHONY += vmlinux_prereq
-vmlinux_prereq: $(vmlinux-deps) FORCE
-ifdef CONFIG_HEADERS_CHECK
-	$(Q)$(MAKE) -f $(srctree)/Makefile headers_check
-endif
-ifdef CONFIG_GDB_SCRIPTS
-	$(Q)ln -fsn $(abspath $(srctree)/scripts/gdb/vmlinux-gdb.py)
-endif
+# Recurse until adjust_autoksyms.sh is satisfied
+PHONY += autoksyms_recursive
+autoksyms_recursive: $(vmlinux-deps)
 ifdef CONFIG_TRIM_UNUSED_KSYMS
 	$(Q)$(CONFIG_SHELL) $(srctree)/scripts/adjust_autoksyms.sh \
 	  "$(MAKE) -f $(srctree)/Makefile vmlinux"
@@ -1032,7 +1024,13 @@ cmd_link-vmlinux =                                                 \
 	$(CONFIG_SHELL) $< $(LD) $(LDFLAGS) $(LDFLAGS_vmlinux) ;    \
 	$(if $(ARCH_POSTLINK), $(MAKE) -f $(ARCH_POSTLINK) $@, true)
 
-vmlinux: scripts/link-vmlinux.sh vmlinux_prereq $(vmlinux-deps) FORCE
+vmlinux: scripts/link-vmlinux.sh autoksyms_recursive $(vmlinux-deps) FORCE
+ifdef CONFIG_HEADERS_CHECK
+	$(Q)$(MAKE) -f $(srctree)/Makefile headers_check
+endif
+ifdef CONFIG_GDB_SCRIPTS
+	$(Q)ln -fsn $(abspath $(srctree)/scripts/gdb/vmlinux-gdb.py)
+endif
 	+$(call if_changed,link-vmlinux)
 
 # Build samples along the rest of the kernel