diff --git a/src/tmpfiles/tmpfiles.c b/src/tmpfiles/tmpfiles.c
index f4885ec942..555347ac36 100644
--- a/src/tmpfiles/tmpfiles.c
+++ b/src/tmpfiles/tmpfiles.c
@@ -783,7 +783,7 @@ static int create_item(Item *i) {
 
                 r = glob_item(i, item_set_perms);
                 if (r < 0)
-                        return 0;
+                        return r;
                 break;
 
         case RECURSIVE_RELABEL_PATH: