diff --git a/openwisp-config/files/openwisp.agent b/openwisp-config/files/openwisp.agent
index 01a4ab9d..015002bf 100755
--- a/openwisp-config/files/openwisp.agent
+++ b/openwisp-config/files/openwisp.agent
@@ -857,7 +857,7 @@ backup_configuration() {
 	sort -u "${BACKUP_FILE_LIST}.tmp" >$BACKUP_FILE_LIST
 	# backup only those files
 	tar -zcf $CONFIGURATION_BACKUP -T $BACKUP_FILE_LIST
-	rm "${BACKUP_FILE_LIST}*"
+	rm -f "${BACKUP_FILE_LIST}.tmp" "$BACKUP_FILE_LIST"
 }
 
 restore_backup() {