diff --git a/lib/device/dev-mpath.c b/lib/device/dev-mpath.c
index d3eaf42a3..ba7bf9740 100644
--- a/lib/device/dev-mpath.c
+++ b/lib/device/dev-mpath.c
@@ -124,7 +124,8 @@ int dev_mpath_init(const char *config_wwids_file)
 
 	_wwid_hash_tab = wwid_tab;
 
-	_read_wwid_file(config_wwids_file);
+	if (config_wwids_file)
+		_read_wwid_file(config_wwids_file);
 
 	return 1;
 }