diff --git a/lib/libalpm/be_package.c b/lib/libalpm/be_package.c
index 3188a2fe..4b43f210 100644
--- a/lib/libalpm/be_package.c
+++ b/lib/libalpm/be_package.c
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ int _alpm_pkg_validate_internal(alpm_handle_t *handle,
 	}
 
 	/* attempt to access the package file, ensure it exists */
-	if(access(pkgfile, R_OK) != 0) {
+	if(_alpm_access(handle, NULL, pkgfile, R_OK) != 0) {
 		RET_ERR(handle, ALPM_ERR_PKG_NOT_FOUND, -1);
 	}
 
diff --git a/lib/libalpm/be_sync.c b/lib/libalpm/be_sync.c
index c4673b1b..f1621996 100644
--- a/lib/libalpm/be_sync.c
+++ b/lib/libalpm/be_sync.c
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ static int sync_db_validate(alpm_db_t *db)
 	}
 
 	/* we can skip any validation if the database doesn't exist */
-	if(access(dbpath, R_OK) != 0 && errno == ENOENT) {
+	if(_alpm_access(db->handle, NULL, dbpath, R_OK) != 0 && errno == ENOENT) {
 		db->status &= ~DB_STATUS_EXISTS;
 		db->status |= DB_STATUS_MISSING;
 		_alpm_log(db->handle, ALPM_LOG_WARNING,
diff --git a/lib/libalpm/util.c b/lib/libalpm/util.c
index 24bf1fc0..11285896 100644
--- a/lib/libalpm/util.c
+++ b/lib/libalpm/util.c
@@ -686,7 +686,7 @@ const char *_alpm_filecache_setup(alpm_handle_t *handle)
 		} else if(!S_ISDIR(buf.st_mode)) {
 			_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_DEBUG,
 					"skipping cachedir, not a directory: %s\n", cachedir);
-		} else if(access(cachedir, W_OK) != 0) {
+		} else if(_alpm_access(handle, NULL, cachedir, W_OK) != 0) {
 			_alpm_log(handle, ALPM_LOG_DEBUG,
 					"skipping cachedir, not writable: %s\n", cachedir);
 		} else if(!(buf.st_mode & (S_IWUSR | S_IWGRP | S_IWOTH))) {