diff --git a/compat/winansi.c b/compat/winansi.c
index 793420f9d0..a551de90eb 100644
--- a/compat/winansi.c
+++ b/compat/winansi.c
@@ -105,6 +105,13 @@ static int is_console(int fd)
 	if (!fd) {
 		if (!GetConsoleMode(hcon, &mode))
 			return 0;
+		/*
+		 * This code path is only reached if there is no console
+		 * attached to stdout/stderr, i.e. we will not need to output
+		 * any text to any console, therefore we might just as well
+		 * use black as foreground color.
+		 */
+		sbi.wAttributes = 0;
 	} else if (!GetConsoleScreenBufferInfo(hcon, &sbi))
 		return 0;