diff --git a/src/xf86libinput.c b/src/xf86libinput.c
index 5727040..23dac8e 100644
--- a/src/xf86libinput.c
+++ b/src/xf86libinput.c
@@ -2208,8 +2208,12 @@ open_restricted(const char *path, int flags, void *data)
 	InputInfoPtr pInfo;
 	int fd = -1;
 
-	/* Special handling for sysfs files (used for pad LEDs) */
-	if (strneq(path, "/sys/", 5)) {
+	/* Special handling for sysfs files (used for pad LEDs)
+           and for udev symlinks (by-id and by-path)
+         */
+	if (strneq(path, "/sys/", 5) ||
+            strneq(path, "/dev/input/by-id/", 17) ||
+            strneq(path, "/dev/input/by-path/", 19)) {
 		fd = open(path, flags);
 		return fd < 0 ? -errno : fd;
 	}