diff --git a/modules/core/src/convert_scale.simd.hpp b/modules/core/src/convert_scale.simd.hpp
index 9db95a50b5..9bf092f8af 100644
--- a/modules/core/src/convert_scale.simd.hpp
+++ b/modules/core/src/convert_scale.simd.hpp
@@ -22,14 +22,14 @@ template<typename _Ts, typename _Td> inline void
 cvtabs_32f( const _Ts* src, size_t sstep, _Td* dst, size_t dstep,
             Size size, float a, float b )
 {
-// Excluding GNU in CV_SIMD_SCALABLE because of "opencv/issues/26936"
-#if (CV_SIMD || (CV_SIMD_SCALABLE && !(defined(__GNUC__) && !defined(__clang__))) )
+#if (CV_SIMD || CV_SIMD_SCALABLE)
     v_float32 va = vx_setall_f32(a), vb = vx_setall_f32(b);
     const int VECSZ = VTraits<v_float32>::vlanes()*2;
-    // GCC miscompiles this scalable block only on VLEN=128 RVV (opencv/issues/26936).
-    // v_float32 is LMUL=2, so vlanes()==8 means VLEN==128: use scalar there, keep SIMD elsewhere.
-#if (CV_SIMD_SCALABLE && defined(__GNUC__) && !defined(__clang__))
-    const bool useSIMD = VTraits<v_float32>::vlanes() != 8;
+    // GCC miscompiles this scalable block only on VLEN=128 RVV (opencv/issues/26936);
+    // use scalar there, keep SIMD on wider vectors. Ask the hardware for VLEN directly:
+    // vlanes() would depend on the LMUL the universal intrinsics happen to use.
+#if (CV_RVV && CV_SIMD_SCALABLE && defined(__GNUC__) && !defined(__clang__))
+    const bool useSIMD = __riscv_vlenb()*8 != 128;
 #else
     const bool useSIMD = true;
 #endif