diff --git a/fs/autofs4/waitq.c b/fs/autofs4/waitq.c
index 1fe28e4754c2..75e5955c3f6d 100644
--- a/fs/autofs4/waitq.c
+++ b/fs/autofs4/waitq.c
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ static int autofs4_getpath(struct autofs_sb_info *sbi,
 	for (tmp = dentry ; tmp != root ; tmp = tmp->d_parent)
 		len += tmp->d_name.len + 1;
 
-	if (--len > NAME_MAX) {
+	if (!len || --len > NAME_MAX) {
 		spin_unlock(&dcache_lock);
 		return 0;
 	}