diff --git a/lib/portage/util/__init__.py b/lib/portage/util/__init__.py
index 285bf66..74e3232 100644
--- a/lib/portage/util/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/portage/util/__init__.py
@@ -992,6 +992,20 @@ def varexpand(mystring, mydict=None, error_leader=None):
                     newstring.append(current)
                     continue
 
+                if mystring[pos] == "(":
+                  # print(f"[šijanec.eu] debug0 {mystring}");
+                  end = mystring[pos:].find(")")
+                  if end == -1:
+                    msg = error_leader() + "[šijanec.eu] missing closing ) in shell command substitution variable"
+                    writemsg(msg + "\n", noiselevel=-1)
+                    return ""
+                  cmd = mystring[pos+1:pos+end]
+                  out = subprocess.run(["sh", "-c", cmd], stdout=subprocess.PIPE).stdout.decode("utf-8")
+                  newstring.append(out.strip())
+                  pos += end+1
+                  # print(f"[šijanec.eu] debug {cmd} {newstring}")
+                  continue
+
                 if mystring[pos] == "{":
                     pos += 1
                     if pos == length: