diff --git a/standalone-kernel/compile_kernel.sh b/standalone-kernel/compile_kernel.sh
index a028b90b..cdee3c1c 100755
--- a/standalone-kernel/compile_kernel.sh
+++ b/standalone-kernel/compile_kernel.sh
@@ -59,11 +59,17 @@ do_compile_kernel()
 
     variant_info=""
     build_folder=build
+    config_prefix="${INPUT_ARCH}"
     extra_params=""
     if [ ! -z "${variant}" ]; then
         case "${variant}" in
             MCS)
-                extra_params="${extra_params} -DKernelIsMCS=TRUE"
+                if [ -f configs/${config_prefix}_MCS_verified.cmake ]; then
+                    config_prefix="${config_prefix}_MCS"
+                else
+                    # just use the default and enable MCS
+                    extra_params="${extra_params} -DKernelIsMCS=TRUE"
+                fi
                 ;;
             *)
                 echo "Unknown variant '${variant}'"
@@ -74,10 +80,20 @@ do_compile_kernel()
         build_folder="${build_folder}-${variant}"
     fi
 
+    # Unfortunately, CMake does not halt with a nice and clear error if the
+    # config file does not exist. Instead, it logs an error that it could not
+    # process the file and continues as if the file was empty. This causes some
+    # rather odd errors later, so it's better to fail here with a clear message.
+    config_file="configs/${config_prefix}_verified.cmake"
+    if [ ! -f "${config_file}" ]; then
+        echo "missing config file '${config_file}'"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
     echo "::group::Run CMake${variant_info}"
     ( # run in sub shell
         set -x
-        cmake -G Ninja -B ${build_folder} -C configs/${INPUT_ARCH}_verified.cmake ${toolchain_flags} ${extra_params}
+        cmake -G Ninja -B ${build_folder} -C ${config_file} ${toolchain_flags} ${extra_params}
     )
     echo "::endgroup::"