diff --git a/xmonad-contrib.cabal b/xmonad-contrib.cabal
index 4b4ed7440..1444e9ca6 100644
--- a/xmonad-contrib.cabal
+++ b/xmonad-contrib.cabal
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ test-suite tests
                   XMonad.Util.XUtils
                   XPrompt
   hs-source-dirs: tests, .
-  build-depends: base
+  build-depends: base >= 4.12 && < 5,
                , QuickCheck >= 2
                , X11 >= 1.10 && < 1.11
                , bytestring >= 0.10 && < 0.13