diff --git a/src/util/virstoragefile.c b/src/util/virstoragefile.c
index c7384d1dc4..8370d23550 100644
--- a/src/util/virstoragefile.c
+++ b/src/util/virstoragefile.c
@@ -1118,7 +1118,7 @@ virStorageFileGetMetadata(const char *path, int format,
     virHashTablePtr cycle = virHashCreate(5, NULL);
     virStorageFileMetadataPtr ret;
 
-    if (!cycle)
+    if (!cycle || !path)
         return NULL;
 
     if (format <= VIR_STORAGE_FILE_NONE)