diff --git a/tests/tests/format-version-forward-back.sh b/tests/tests/format-version-forward-back.sh
index d907ef49..ed5543c1 100644
--- a/tests/tests/format-version-forward-back.sh
+++ b/tests/tests/format-version-forward-back.sh
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@
 # format version.
 #
 
-# not supported on el8 or higher
-if [ $(source /etc/os-release ; echo ${VERSION_ID:0:1}) -gt 7 ]; then
+# not supported on el8, or higher versions.
+if [ $(source /etc/os-release ; echo ${VERSION_ID} | cut -d. -f1) -gt 7 ]; then
 	t_skip_permitted "Unsupported OS version"
 fi