diff --git a/package/target-finish/1st-stage/1st-stage.conf b/package/target-finish/1st-stage/1st-stage.conf
index 11fe31b34..fd057901b 100644
--- a/package/target-finish/1st-stage/1st-stage.conf
+++ b/package/target-finish/1st-stage/1st-stage.conf
@@ -105,7 +105,9 @@ for x in $confdir/$initrd_config/initrd_* ; do
 				mkdir -p ${tfile%/*}
 			fi
 
-			cp -dp "${f}" "${tfile}"
+			# without -R, cp would try to copy the contents of e.g.
+			# /lib/udev/devices/zero
+			cp -a "${f}" "${tfile}"
 			ls -l "$tfile"
 
 			file -L "${f}" | grep -q ELF || continue