diff --git a/cmdline/elem.c b/cmdline/elem.c
index 60c63a9e..2356aad6 100644
--- a/cmdline/elem.c
+++ b/cmdline/elem.c
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ int filter_existence(int filter_missing, const char* dir, const char* sub)
 
 	if (lstat(path, &st) != 0) {
 		/* if the file doesn't exist, we don't filter it out */
-		if (errno == ENOENT)
+		if (errno == ENOENT || errno == ENOTDIR)
 			return 0;
 		/* LCOV_EXCL_START */
 		log_fatal(errno, "Error in stat file '%s'. %s.\n", path, strerror(errno));
diff --git a/cmdline/handle.c b/cmdline/handle.c
index 11522209..34660054 100644
--- a/cmdline/handle.c
+++ b/cmdline/handle.c
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ int handle_open_create(struct snapraid_handle* handle, struct snapraid_file* fil
 		 * If creation was not requested, a missing file is an expected condition,
 		 * not a fatal error.
 		 */
-		if (create || errno != ENOENT) {
+		if (create || (errno != ENOENT && errno != ENOTDIR)) {
 			/* LCOV_EXCL_START */
 			log_fatal(errno, "Error opening file '%s'. %s.\n", handle->path, strerror(errno));
 			/* LCOV_EXCL_STOP */