diff --git a/lisp/net/tramp-sh.el b/lisp/net/tramp-sh.el
index bce7c323dad..68018298b68 100644
--- a/lisp/net/tramp-sh.el
+++ b/lisp/net/tramp-sh.el
@@ -2969,6 +2969,7 @@ tramp-sh-handle-make-process
       (let* ((program (car command))
 	     (args (cdr command))
 	     ;; STDERR can also be a file name.
+             (stderr (plist-get args :stderr))
 	     (tmpstderr
 	      (and stderr
 		   (tramp-unquote-file-local-name