diff --git a/asdf.lisp b/asdf.lisp
index f58676e6ff7f46fc5c9ea0c0d0c3e51004a6a85a..a165650a19cb3240c0c608d22187e439b2718a82 100644
--- a/asdf.lisp
+++ b/asdf.lisp
@@ -2801,7 +2801,7 @@ directive.")
                                it
                                ;; this is used to give semantics to :here when used
                                ;; interactively.
-                               *default-pathname-defaults*)
+                               (default-directory))
                           :directory t :wilden nil))
             ((eql :user-cache) (resolve-location *user-cache* :directory t :wilden nil))
             ((eql :system-cache) (resolve-location *system-cache* :directory t :wilden nil))