diff --git a/src/basic/tmpfile-util.c b/src/basic/tmpfile-util.c
index 2be44dcd77..be7a930c44 100644
--- a/src/basic/tmpfile-util.c
+++ b/src/basic/tmpfile-util.c
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@ void cleanup_tmpfile_data_done(struct cleanup_tmpfile_data *d) {
         assert(d);
 
         if (!d->dir_fd ||
-            *d->dir_fd < 0 ||
+            (*d->dir_fd < 0 && *d->dir_fd != AT_FDCWD) ||
             !d->filename ||
             !*d->filename)
                 return;