diff --git a/src/fuse_chmod.cpp b/src/fuse_chmod.cpp
index 1c2857d7..5a0d0b93 100644
--- a/src/fuse_chmod.cpp
+++ b/src/fuse_chmod.cpp
@@ -75,6 +75,8 @@ _chmod(const Policy::Action &actionFunc_,
   rv = actionFunc_(branches_,fusepath_,branches);
   if(rv < 0)
     return rv;
+  if(branches.empty())
+    return -ENOENT;
 
   ::_chmod_loop(branches,fusepath_,mode_,&prv);
   if(prv.errors.empty())