diff --git a/tests/upgrade_postinstall.pm b/tests/upgrade_postinstall.pm
index 2c74a608..ed1d3f00 100644
--- a/tests/upgrade_postinstall.pm
+++ b/tests/upgrade_postinstall.pm
@@ -7,7 +7,12 @@ sub run {
     my $self = shift;
     # try to login, check whether target release is installed
     $self->root_console(tty=>3);
-    check_release(lc(get_var('VERSION')));
+    my $version = lc(get_var('VERSION'));
+    my $rawrel = get_var('RAWREL');
+    # if VERSION is the Rawhide release number (happens for Rawhide
+    # update tests), check for "rawhide" not the number
+    my $tocheck = $version eq $rawrel ? 'rawhide' : $version;
+    check_release($tocheck);
 }