diff --git a/test-requirements.txt b/test-requirements.txt
index f1811065c0e..50bfa12084f 100644
--- a/test-requirements.txt
+++ b/test-requirements.txt
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # process, which may cause wedges in the gate later.
 hacking<0.11,>=0.10.0
 
-cliff>=1.14.0 # Apache-2.0
+cliff!=1.16.0,!=1.17.0,>=1.14.0 # Apache-2.0
 coverage>=3.6
 fixtures>=1.3.1
 mock>=1.2