diff --git a/openssl/src/version.rs b/openssl/src/version.rs
index 7e3ee288cb2fe00453307bc6f06979d5a536ce57..20bad516be6a7e780bcdc5a5a4426e938945f327 100644
--- a/openssl/src/version.rs
+++ b/openssl/src/version.rs
@@ -127,6 +127,9 @@ fn test_versions() {
     assert!(number() > 0);
     assert!(version().starts_with(expected_name()));
     assert!(c_flags().starts_with("compiler:"));
-    assert!(built_on().starts_with("built on:"));
+    // some distributions patch out dates out of openssl so that the builds are reproducible
+    if !built_on().is_empty() {
+        assert!(built_on().starts_with("built on:"));
+    }
     assert!(dir().starts_with("OPENSSLDIR:"));
 }