diff --git a/base/loading.jl b/base/loading.jl
index 86ffaef060f1d..289dab0bbfae0 100644
--- a/base/loading.jl
+++ b/base/loading.jl
@@ -749,7 +749,7 @@ function stale_cachefile(modpath::String, cachefile::String)
         end
 
         # now check if this file is fresh relative to its source files
-        if files[1][1] != modpath
+        if !samefile(files[1][1], modpath)
             DEBUG_LOADING[] && info("JL_DEBUG_LOADING: Rejecting cache file $cachefile because it is for file $(files[1][1])) not file $modpath.")
             return true # cache file was compiled from a different path
         end
diff --git a/test/compile.jl b/test/compile.jl
index 4e377126138ac..a8d4fbe2846af 100644
--- a/test/compile.jl
+++ b/test/compile.jl
@@ -205,6 +205,11 @@ try
     @test !isdefined(Main, :FooBar)
     @test !isdefined(Main, :FooBar1)
 
+    relFooBar_file = joinpath(dir, "subfolder", "..", "FooBar.jl")
+    @test Base.stale_cachefile(relFooBar_file, joinpath(dir, "FooBar.ji")) == !is_windows() # `..` is not a symlink on Windows
+    mkdir(joinpath(dir, "subfolder"))
+    @test !Base.stale_cachefile(relFooBar_file, joinpath(dir, "FooBar.ji"))
+
     @eval using FooBar
     fb_uuid = Base.module_uuid(Main.FooBar)
     sleep(2); touch(FooBar_file)