diff --git a/src/shared/utmp-wtmp.h b/src/shared/utmp-wtmp.h
index ec1e27771e..2e04fac404 100644
--- a/src/shared/utmp-wtmp.h
+++ b/src/shared/utmp-wtmp.h
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ static inline bool utxent_start(void) {
         return true;
 }
 static inline void utxent_cleanup(bool *initialized) {
-        if (initialized)
+        assert(initialized);
+        if (*initialized)
                 endutxent();
 }