diff --git a/meta/classes/kernel.bbclass b/meta/classes/kernel.bbclass
index cfa61e60de..ce2cab65ae 100644
--- a/meta/classes/kernel.bbclass
+++ b/meta/classes/kernel.bbclass
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ KERNEL_VERSION_PKG_NAME = "${@legitimize_package_name(d.getVar('KERNEL_VERSION')
 KERNEL_VERSION_PKG_NAME[vardepvalue] = "${LINUX_VERSION}"
 
 python __anonymous () {
-    import re
 
     # Merge KERNEL_IMAGETYPE and KERNEL_ALT_IMAGETYPE into KERNEL_IMAGETYPES
     type = d.getVar('KERNEL_IMAGETYPE') or ""
@@ -46,7 +45,10 @@ python __anonymous () {
         types = (alttype + ' ' + types).strip()
     d.setVar('KERNEL_IMAGETYPES', types)
 
-    typeformake = re.sub(r'\.gz', '', types)
+    # some commonly used kernel images aren't generated by the kernel build system, such as vmlinux.gz
+    # typeformake lists only valid kernel make targets, and post processing can be done after the kernel
+    # is built (such as using gzip to compress vmlinux)
+    typeformake = types.replace('vmlinux.gz', 'vmlinux')
     d.setVar('KERNEL_IMAGETYPE_FOR_MAKE', typeformake)
 
     for type in types.split():
@@ -270,14 +272,12 @@ kernel_do_compile() {
 	fi
 	for typeformake in ${KERNEL_IMAGETYPE_FOR_MAKE} ; do
 		oe_runmake ${typeformake} CC="${KERNEL_CC}" LD="${KERNEL_LD}" ${KERNEL_EXTRA_ARGS} $use_alternate_initrd
-		for type in ${KERNEL_IMAGETYPES} ; do
-			if test "${typeformake}.gz" = "${type}"; then
-				mkdir -p "${KERNEL_OUTPUT_DIR}"
-				gzip -9c < "${typeformake}" > "${KERNEL_OUTPUT_DIR}/${type}"
-				break;
-			fi
-		done
 	done
+	# vmlinux.gz is not built by kernel
+	if (echo "${KERNEL_IMAGETYPES}" | grep -wq "vmlinux\.gz"); then
+		mkdir -p "${KERNEL_OUTPUT_DIR}"
+		gzip -9c < ${B}/vmlinux > "${KERNEL_OUTPUT_DIR}/vmlinux.gz"
+	fi
 }
 
 do_compile_kernelmodules() {