diff --git a/distcheck.cmake b/distcheck.cmake
index 5ab84d8b..73a8344d 100644
--- a/distcheck.cmake
+++ b/distcheck.cmake
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ macro(DISTCHECK_SETUP)
         ${BUILD_CMD} clean || (echo "ERROR: the clean target failed." && false)
           &&
         cd ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${PROJECT_NAME}${PROJECT_SUFFIX}-${PROJECT_VERSION} &&
-        chmod u+w . _build _inst &&
+        chmod u+w -R . _build _inst &&
         rm -rf _build _inst &&
         find . -type d -print0 | xargs -0 chmod u+w &&
         echo "==============================================================" &&