diff --git a/lib/fs.js b/lib/fs.js
index d390335df8c72c..50d6afc8b41e08 100644
--- a/lib/fs.js
+++ b/lib/fs.js
@@ -1550,7 +1550,7 @@ fs.realpathSync = function realpathSync(p, cache) {
         }
       }
       if (linkTarget === null) {
-        fs.accessSync(base, fs.F_OK);  // Throws ELOOP on cyclic links.
+        fs.statSync(base);
         linkTarget = fs.readlinkSync(base);
       }
       resolvedLink = pathModule.resolve(previous, linkTarget);
diff --git a/lib/module.js b/lib/module.js
index ca2c805bb0da16..a068bffa7d9056 100644
--- a/lib/module.js
+++ b/lib/module.js
@@ -428,14 +428,14 @@ Module.prototype._compile = function(content, filename) {
 
 // Native extension for .js
 Module._extensions['.js'] = function(module, filename) {
-  var content = internalModuleReadFile(filename);
+  var content = fs.readFileSync(filename, 'utf8');
   module._compile(internalModule.stripBOM(content), filename);
 };
 
 
 // Native extension for .json
 Module._extensions['.json'] = function(module, filename) {
-  var content = internalModuleReadFile(filename);
+  var content = fs.readFileSync(filename, 'utf8');
   try {
     module.exports = JSON.parse(internalModule.stripBOM(content));
   } catch (err) {