diff --git a/contrib/jenkins-build-common.sh b/contrib/jenkins-build-common.sh
index 3d9932d..e15c616 100644
--- a/contrib/jenkins-build-common.sh
+++ b/contrib/jenkins-build-common.sh
@@ -156,6 +156,15 @@
     fi
   done
 
+  # ensure requested binaries indeed exist
+  for b in $wanted_binaries ; do
+    if [ ! -f "$b" ]; then
+      set +x; echo "ERROR: no such binary: $b in $prefix_real/bin/"; set -x
+      ls -1 "$prefix_real/bin"
+      exit 1
+    fi
+  done
+
   cd "$prefix_real"
   this="$name.build-${BUILD_NUMBER-$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%H_%M_%S)}"
   tar="${this}.tgz"