diff --git a/repos/ports/src/app/gdb_monitor/gdbserver/config.h b/repos/ports/src/app/gdb_monitor/gdbserver/config.h
index 215218d303..404ed7a45f 100644
--- a/repos/ports/src/app/gdb_monitor/gdbserver/config.h
+++ b/repos/ports/src/app/gdb_monitor/gdbserver/config.h
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@
  * under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License version 3.
  */
 
+#ifndef _GDBSERVER_CONFIG_H_
+#define _GDBSERVER_CONFIG_H_
+
 #define HAVE_ARPA_INET_H 1
 #define HAVE_ERRNO_H 1
 #define HAVE_FCNTL_H 1
@@ -25,7 +28,11 @@
 #define HAVE_LINUX_REGSETS 1
 #define HAVE_LINUX_USRREGS 1
 
+#ifndef __GENODE__
 #define __GENODE__
+#endif
 
 /* first process id */
 #define GENODE_MAIN_LWPID 1
+
+#endif /* _GDBSERVER_CONFIG_H_ */
diff --git a/repos/ports/src/app/gdb_monitor/target.mk b/repos/ports/src/app/gdb_monitor/target.mk
index 11f64c356e..198314d971 100644
--- a/repos/ports/src/app/gdb_monitor/target.mk
+++ b/repos/ports/src/app/gdb_monitor/target.mk
@@ -90,19 +90,29 @@ vpath %.cc $(GDB_CONTRIB_DIR)/gdb
 vpath %.cc $(PRG_DIR)/gdbserver
 
 #
-# Files from init
+# Files from sandbox library
 #
 # Because the 'server.h' file exists both in gdb and in init and both gdb's
 # 'server.c' and init's 'server.cc' are compiled to a 'server.o' file, the
 # parent directory of the init source is used as reference.
 #
 
-SANDBOX_PARENT_DIR = $(abspath $(dir $(call select_from_repositories,src/lib/sandbox/server.cc))/..)
-
-INC_DIR += $(SANDBOX_PARENT_DIR)
+SANDBOX_SRC_DIR    = $(call select_from_repositories,src/lib/sandbox)
+SANDBOX_PARENT_DIR = $(abspath $(addsuffix /..,$(SANDBOX_SRC_DIR)))
 
 SRC_CC += sandbox/server.cc
 
+# needed to compile gdbserver/genode-low.cc
+INC_DIR += $(SANDBOX_PARENT_DIR)
+
 vpath sandbox/%.cc $(SANDBOX_PARENT_DIR)
 
+# import selected headers needed from sandbox library
+SANDBOX_HEADERS = types.h verbose.h report.h name_registry.h service.h utils.h
+
+genode-low.o sandbox/server.o: $(SANDBOX_HEADERS)
+
+%.h: $(SANDBOX_SRC_DIR)/%.h
+	ln -sf $< $@
+
 CC_CXX_WARN_STRICT =