diff --git a/bin/flac2ogg.sh b/bin/flac2ogg.sh
index 20790e1..61188f1 100644
--- a/bin/flac2ogg.sh
+++ b/bin/flac2ogg.sh
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ if [ -t 0 ]; then
 		done
 	fi
 else
-	while read -r flac; do
+	while IFS= read -r flac; do
 		[ -f "$flac" ] || err "$flac: not found"
 		convert_to_ogg "$flac" || rc=$?
 	done
diff --git a/utils/openbsd/hotplug/trunk_urndis_hotplug.sh b/utils/openbsd/hotplug/trunk_urndis_hotplug.sh
index 1418685..4454440 100644
--- a/utils/openbsd/hotplug/trunk_urndis_hotplug.sh
+++ b/utils/openbsd/hotplug/trunk_urndis_hotplug.sh
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ renew_dhcp_if_needed() {
 	iface=$1
 	hostname_if=/etc/hostname."$iface"
 	[ ! -r "$hostname_if" ] && return
-	while read -r line; do
+	while IFS= read -r line; do
 		[ "$line" = dhcp ] && dhclient "$iface" && break
 	done <"$hostname_if"
 }
diff --git a/utils/scripts/sekrit-rekey.sh b/utils/scripts/sekrit-rekey.sh
index 8ac0a7e..e11bc2e 100644
--- a/utils/scripts/sekrit-rekey.sh
+++ b/utils/scripts/sekrit-rekey.sh
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ scratch=$(mktemp -tp "$newdir" .sekrit-scratch-XXXXXXXXXX) ||
     err "failed to create scratch file"
 trap 'rm -fr -- "$scratch" "$newdir"' INT QUIT TERM
 
-sekrit ls | while read -r entry; do
+sekrit ls | while IFS= read -r entry; do
 	printf "%s... " "$entry"
 	sekrit get "$entry" >|"$scratch" ||
 	    err "failed to export entry $entry"
diff --git a/utils/scripts/x-dpi-facesizes.sh b/utils/scripts/x-dpi-facesizes.sh
index 7a32371..8e0a5b0 100644
--- a/utils/scripts/x-dpi-facesizes.sh
+++ b/utils/scripts/x-dpi-facesizes.sh
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ FACESIZES="8.0 4.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 12.0"
 
 basedpi=$(xdpyinfo | grep '^  resolution:' | {
 	min=
-	while read -r line; do
+	while IFS= read -r line; do
 		set -- $line
 		dpi_x=${2%%x*}
 		dpi_y=${2##*x}
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ for facesize in $FACESIZES; do
 done | bc -l | {
 	i=0
 	printf "Xft.dpi:\t%.1f\n" "$targetdpi"
-	while read -r v; do
+	while IFS= read -r v; do
 		if [ $i -eq 0 ]; then
 			printf "XTerm.VT100.faceSize:\t%f\n" "$v"
 		else
diff --git a/utils/scripts/zone-serial-number-hook.sh b/utils/scripts/zone-serial-number-hook.sh
index 5ee7cbf..113f051 100644
--- a/utils/scripts/zone-serial-number-hook.sh
+++ b/utils/scripts/zone-serial-number-hook.sh
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ zonefile_regex=$(git config --default '\.zone$' hooks.zonefileregex)
 needs_serial_bump=$(git diff-index --name-only --cached "$against" |
     grep -E -- "$zonefile_regex" | {
 	rc=0
-	while read -r filename; do
+	while IFS= read -r filename; do
 		old=$(get_serial "$against:$filename")
 		new=$(get_serial ":$filename")
 		if bc_cmp "$new" "<=" "$old"; then
diff --git a/xdg-config-dir/herbstluftwm/autostart b/xdg-config-dir/herbstluftwm/autostart
index 66255b7..944a8d3 100755
--- a/xdg-config-dir/herbstluftwm/autostart
+++ b/xdg-config-dir/herbstluftwm/autostart
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ hc unlock
 
 hc detect_monitors
 
-hc list_monitors | while read -r line; do
+hc list_monitors | while IFS= read -r line; do
 	m=${line%%:*}
 	sh ~/.config/herbstluftwm/herbstpanel.sh "$m" &
 done