diff --git a/meta/lib/oe/package.py b/meta/lib/oe/package.py
index 0fe49c00d6..d1303f32bf 100644
--- a/meta/lib/oe/package.py
+++ b/meta/lib/oe/package.py
@@ -202,6 +202,7 @@ TRANSLATE = (
     ("[", "@openbrace@"),
     ("]", "@closebrace@"),
     ("_", "@underscore@"),
+    (":", "@colon@"),
 )
 
 def file_translate(file):