diff --git a/src/libsystemd/sd-daemon/sd-daemon.c b/src/libsystemd/sd-daemon/sd-daemon.c
index 218210f234..9e8f0a73f5 100644
--- a/src/libsystemd/sd-daemon/sd-daemon.c
+++ b/src/libsystemd/sd-daemon/sd-daemon.c
@@ -604,7 +604,13 @@ _public_ int sd_booted(void) {
          * created. This takes place in mount-setup.c, so is
          * guaranteed to happen very early during boot. */
 
-        return laccess("/run/systemd/system/", F_OK) >= 0;
+        if (laccess("/run/systemd/system/", F_OK) >= 0)
+                return true;
+
+        if (errno == ENOENT)
+                return false;
+
+        return -errno;
 }
 
 _public_ int sd_watchdog_enabled(int unset_environment, uint64_t *usec) {