diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/rcutorture/bin/functions.sh b/tools/testing/selftests/rcutorture/bin/functions.sh
index 82663495fb38..fef8b4b55c27 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/rcutorture/bin/functions.sh
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/rcutorture/bin/functions.sh
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ identify_qemu_args () {
 # Returns the number of virtual CPUs available to the aggregate of the
 # guest OSes.
 identify_qemu_vcpus () {
-	lscpu | grep '^CPU(s):' | sed -e 's/CPU(s)://' -e 's/[ 	]*//g'
+	getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN
 }
 
 # print_bug