diff --git a/src/fuse_utimens.cpp b/src/fuse_utimens.cpp
index 48b8f8fc..4aeabc3d 100644
--- a/src/fuse_utimens.cpp
+++ b/src/fuse_utimens.cpp
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@ _utimens(const Policy::Action &utimensPolicy_,
   rv = utimensPolicy_(branches_,fusepath_,branches);
   if(rv < 0)
     return rv;
+  if(branches.empty())
+    return -ENOENT;
 
   ::_utimens_loop(branches,fusepath_,ts_,&prv);
   if(prv.errors.empty())