diff --git a/src/core/util/smarthops/CMakeLists.txt b/src/core/util/smarthops/CMakeLists.txt
index d112f6d1..1fdacc9e 100644
--- a/src/core/util/smarthops/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/core/util/smarthops/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,5 +6,7 @@ set(SRCS
 )
 
 add_library(fail-smarthops ${SRCS})
-# ToDo: Do we really need this dependency?
-add_dependencies(fail-smarthops fail-comm)
\ No newline at end of file
+# make sure comm/TracePlugin.pb.h has been generated
+add_dependencies(fail-smarthops fail-comm)
+# fail-util: ProtoIStream
+target_link_libraries(fail-smarthops fail-comm fail-util)