diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/README.rst b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/README.rst
index 37164322a102..07c834433b38 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/README.rst
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/README.rst
@@ -107,12 +107,12 @@ Docker container and local rootfs image. The overall steps are as follows:
     tools/testing/selftests/bpf/vmtest.sh \
     -l <path of local rootfs image> -- \
     ./test_progs -d \
-        \"$(cat tools/testing/selftests/bpf/DENYLIST.riscv64 \
+        "$(cat tools/testing/selftests/bpf/DENYLIST.riscv64 \
             | cut -d'#' -f1 \
             | sed -e 's/^[[:space:]]*//' \
                   -e 's/[[:space:]]*$//' \
             | tr -s '\n' ',' \
-        )\"
+        )"
 
 Link: https://github.com/pulehui/riscv-bpf-vmtest.git [0]
 Link: https://github.com/libbpf/ci/blob/main/rootfs/mkrootfs_debian.sh [1]
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/vmtest.sh b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/vmtest.sh
index 9ca802285393..6a3d026d76bd 100755
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/vmtest.sh
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/vmtest.sh
@@ -428,8 +428,17 @@ main()
 
 	if [[ $# -eq 0  && "${debug_shell}" == "no" ]]; then
 		echo "No command specified, will run ${DEFAULT_COMMAND} in the vm"
-	else
-		command="$@"
+	elif [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; then
+		# Quote each argument so the command survives into the guest: the
+		# host expands ${command} into the generated init script, which
+		# the guest bash then parses as shell source. Without the %q
+		# escapes an argument with a space or a glob (e.g. -a 'verifier_*')
+		# is re-split and expanded against /root/bpf there.
+		#
+		# Skip this when there is no command: printf '%q ' would still
+		# apply the format once and emit '', which is not the empty
+		# command that -s (debug shell) expects.
+		command=$(printf '%q ' "$@")
 	fi
 
 	local kconfig_file="${OUTPUT_DIR}/latest.config"