diff --git a/qemu/Makefile b/qemu/Makefile
index c286e520..5dcaa9bc 100644
--- a/qemu/Makefile
+++ b/qemu/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Makefile for QEMU - modified for Unicorn engine.
 
+ifneq ($(words $(subst :, ,$(CURDIR))), 1)
+  $(error main directory cannot contain spaces nor colons)
+endif
+
 # Always point to the root of the build tree (needs GNU make).
 BUILD_DIR=$(CURDIR)
 
diff --git a/qemu/configure b/qemu/configure
index 0e8b74df..ebf6c1cf 100755
--- a/qemu/configure
+++ b/qemu/configure
@@ -133,8 +133,15 @@ path_of() {
     return 1
 }
 
+# make source path absolute
+source_path=$(cd "$(dirname -- "$0")"; pwd)
+
+if printf %s\\n "$source_path" "$PWD" | grep -q "[[:space:]:]";
+then
+  error_exit "main directory cannot contain spaces nor colons"
+fi
+
 # default parameters
-source_path=$(dirname "$0")
 cpu=""
 static="no"
 cross_prefix=""