diff --git a/src/fuse_open.cpp b/src/fuse_open.cpp
index fe6940bb..8b84259f 100644
--- a/src/fuse_open.cpp
+++ b/src/fuse_open.cpp
@@ -321,6 +321,8 @@ _open(const Policy::Search &searchFunc_,
   rv = searchFunc_(ibranches_,fusepath_,obranches);
   if(rv < 0)
     return rv;
+  if(obranches.empty())
+    return -ENOENT;
 
   filepath = obranches[0]->path / fusepath_;