diff --git a/make/topdir.mk b/make/topdir.mk
index bdc0ed61..b8957248 100644
--- a/make/topdir.mk
+++ b/make/topdir.mk
@@ -272,8 +272,12 @@ git-get-maintainer:
 	make git-get-$(call proj_query,getval global jw-maintainer)
 
 git-get-pub:
-	if git remote | grep -q "^pub$$"; then \
-		JW_PKG_SSH_EXTRA_OPTS="" git pull pub master ;\
+	set -e; if git remote | grep -q "^pub$$"; then \
+		git fetch --prune --recurse-submodules=on-demand pub master ;\
+		git submodule foreach --recursive 'git fetch --tags -f pub' ;\
+		git rebase --autostash pub/master ;\
+		git merge --ff-only pub/master ;\
+		git submodule update --init --recursive ;\
 	fi
 
 git-get-%: FORCE