diff --git a/src/plugins/debugger/gdb/gdbengine.cpp b/src/plugins/debugger/gdb/gdbengine.cpp
index 9b0ae33cf80..b84f891c1e9 100644
--- a/src/plugins/debugger/gdb/gdbengine.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/debugger/gdb/gdbengine.cpp
@@ -1494,8 +1494,7 @@ bool GdbEngine::startDebugger(const QSharedPointer<DebuggerStartParameters> &sp)
 
     QString scriptFileName = theDebuggerStringSetting(GdbScriptFile);
     if (!scriptFileName.isEmpty()) {
-        QFile scriptFile(scriptFileName);
-        if (scriptFile.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly)) {
+        if (QFileInfo(scriptFileName).isReadable()) {
             postCommand(_("source ") + scriptFileName);
         } else {
             QMessageBox::warning(q->mainWindow(),