diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 2a0786a8b..736375744 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -17,6 +17,14 @@
 # THIS FILE IS MANAGED BY THE GLOBAL REQUIREMENTS REPO - DO NOT EDIT
 import setuptools
 
+# In python < 2.7.4, a lazy loading of package `pbr` will break
+# setuptools if some other modules registered functions in `atexit`.
+# solution from: http://bugs.python.org/issue15881#msg170215
+try:
+    import multiprocessing  # noqa
+except ImportError:
+    pass
+
 setuptools.setup(
-    setup_requires=['pbr>=0.5.21,<1.0'],
+    setup_requires=['pbr'],
     pbr=True)
diff --git a/test-requirements.txt b/test-requirements.txt
index 8e5ccd1fd..557382c27 100644
--- a/test-requirements.txt
+++ b/test-requirements.txt
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
-hacking>=0.9.1,<0.10
+hacking>=0.9.2,<0.10
 
 coverage>=3.6
 discover
 fixtures>=0.3.14
 mock>=1.0
 httpretty>=0.8.0
-python-subunit
-sphinx>=1.2.1,<1.3
+python-subunit>=0.0.18
+sphinx>=1.1.2,!=1.2.0,<1.3
 oslosphinx
 testrepository>=0.0.18
 testscenarios>=0.4