diff --git a/read-cache.c b/read-cache.c
index 21829102ae..1ced8c630e 100644
--- a/read-cache.c
+++ b/read-cache.c
@@ -205,8 +205,6 @@ void fill_stat_cache_info(struct index_state *istate, struct cache_entry *ce, st
 
 static unsigned int st_mode_from_ce(const struct cache_entry *ce)
 {
-	extern int trust_executable_bit, has_symlinks;
-
 	switch (ce->ce_mode & S_IFMT) {
 	case S_IFLNK:
 		return has_symlinks ? S_IFLNK : (S_IFREG | 0644);