diff --git a/fdroidserver/common.py b/fdroidserver/common.py
index 94c36b78..8f5350ff 100644
--- a/fdroidserver/common.py
+++ b/fdroidserver/common.py
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 # common.py is imported by all modules, so do not import third-party
 # libraries here as they will become a requirement for all commands.
 
+import io
 import os
 import sys
 import re
@@ -206,7 +207,9 @@ def read_config(opts, config_file='config.py'):
     config = {}
 
     logging.debug("Reading %s" % config_file)
-    execfile(config_file, config)
+    with io.open(config_file, "rb") as f:
+        code = compile(f.read(), config_file, 'exec')
+        exec(code, None, config)
 
     # smartcardoptions must be a list since its command line args for Popen
     if 'smartcardoptions' in config: