diff --git a/IkiWiki/Plugin/teximg.pm b/IkiWiki/Plugin/teximg.pm
index 2eb13c86c..957f71a6e 100644
--- a/IkiWiki/Plugin/teximg.pm
+++ b/IkiWiki/Plugin/teximg.pm
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ sub create ($$$) { #{{{
 	if (-e "$config{destdir}/$imglink" ||
 	    gen_image($code, $height, $digest, $teximgdir)) {
 		return qq{<img src="$imgurl" alt="}
-			.(exists $params{alt} ? $params{alt} : encode_entities($code))
+			.(exists $params->{alt} ? $params->{alt} : encode_entities($code))
 			.qq{" class="teximg" />};
 	}
 	else {