diff --git a/lldb/source/Host/macosx/Host.mm b/lldb/source/Host/macosx/Host.mm
index 57be7d862d7d..8899b9c675c2 100644
--- a/lldb/source/Host/macosx/Host.mm
+++ b/lldb/source/Host/macosx/Host.mm
@@ -1371,7 +1371,13 @@ Host::ShellExpandArguments (ProcessLaunchInfo &launch_info)
         
         int status;
         std::string output;
-        RunShellCommand(expand_command, launch_info.GetWorkingDirectory(), &status, nullptr, &output, 10);
+        FileSpec cwd(launch_info.GetWorkingDirectory());
+        if (!cwd.Exists())
+        {
+            error.SetErrorStringWithFormat("cwd does not exist; cannot launch with shell argument expansion");
+            return error;
+        }
+        RunShellCommand(expand_command, cwd, &status, nullptr, &output, 10);
         
         if (status != 0)
         {