diff --git a/src/passwd/getspnam_r.c b/src/passwd/getspnam_r.c
index 1b95dbb6..541e8531 100644
--- a/src/passwd/getspnam_r.c
+++ b/src/passwd/getspnam_r.c
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ int getspnam_r(const char *name, struct spwd *sp, char *buf, size_t size, struct
 			return errno;
 		}
 	} else {
+		if (errno != ENOENT && errno != ENOTDIR)
+			return errno;
 		f = fopen("/etc/shadow", "rbe");
 		if (!f) {
 			if (errno != ENOENT && errno != ENOTDIR)