diff --git a/xbps-src b/xbps-src
index 65269079586..3cb9db24038 100755
--- a/xbps-src
+++ b/xbps-src
@@ -490,6 +490,9 @@ readonly XBPS_GIT_CMD
 if [ -n "$IN_CHROOT" ]; then
     readonly XBPS_CONFIG_FILE=/etc/xbps/xbps-src.conf
     readonly XBPS_DISTDIR=/void-packages
+    # needed before call to check_config_vars
+    readonly XBPS_MASTERDIR=/
+    readonly XBPS_HOSTDIR=/host
 else
     _distdir="$(readlink -f ${0%/*})"
     if [ "${_distdir}" = "." ]; then