L.S., A little ping since 3 weeks have passed by, without any response so far.
It would be helpful to respond and join the discussion on LKML, so a consensus could be reached about if reverting the offending kernel patch or a change to make-kpkg script is the best solution , before the 4.16 kernel is released. If you don't have the time to look into the problem or do not maintain the package anymore that is fine too, but please indicate this, so some progression in the discussion can be made. -- Sander