diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 04d4753d1c..4c9e931730 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -475,7 +475,17 @@ if(CONFIG_APPLICATION_MEMORY)
       string(SUBSTRING ${fixed_path} 1 -1 fixed_path)
     endif()
 
-    list(APPEND ks "${fixed_path}lib${target_name}.a")
+    set(fixed_path "${fixed_path}lib${target_name}.a")
+
+    if(CMAKE_GENERATOR STREQUAL "Ninja")
+      # Ninja invokes the linker from the root of the build directory
+      # (APPLICATION_BINARY_DIR) instead of from the build/zephyr
+      # directory (PROJECT_BINARY_DIR). So for linker-defs.h to get
+      # the correct path we need to prefix with zephyr/.
+      set(fixed_path "zephyr/${fixed_path}")
+    endif()
+
+    list(APPEND ks ${fixed_path})
   endforeach()
 
   # We are done constructing kernel_object_file_list, now we inject this
diff --git a/include/linker/linker-defs.h b/include/linker/linker-defs.h
index 486f1cd0d0..3d9de4c12f 100644
--- a/include/linker/linker-defs.h
+++ b/include/linker/linker-defs.h
@@ -115,8 +115,8 @@
    archives like KBuild did.*/
 #endif
 
-#define X(i, j)  KERNEL_OBJECT_FILE_##i (j)
-#define Y(i, j) *KERNEL_OBJECT_FILE_##i
+#define X(i, j) KERNEL_OBJECT_FILE_##i (j)
+#define Y(i, j) KERNEL_OBJECT_FILE_##i
 
 #define KERNEL_INPUT_SECTION(sect) \
     UTIL_LISTIFY(NUM_KERNEL_OBJECT_FILES, X, sect)