diff --git a/distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch b/distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
index 9f1f1479a51..be45c45d192 100755
--- a/distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
+++ b/distribution/deb/src/main/packaging/init.d/elasticsearch
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ case "$1" in
 		i=0
 		timeout=10
 		# Wait for the process to be properly started before exiting
-		until { cat "$PID_FILE" | xargs kill -0; } >/dev/null 2>&1
+		until { kill -0 `cat "$PID_FILE"`; } >/dev/null 2>&1
 		do
 			sleep 1
 			i=$(($i + 1))