diff --git a/diff.c b/diff.c
index 80f8439441..061694b5ea 100644
--- a/diff.c
+++ b/diff.c
@@ -2252,7 +2252,7 @@ static void builtin_diff(const char *name_a,
 			(!two->mode || S_ISGITLINK(two->mode))) {
 		const char *del = diff_get_color_opt(o, DIFF_FILE_OLD);
 		const char *add = diff_get_color_opt(o, DIFF_FILE_NEW);
-		show_submodule_summary(o->file, one ? one->path : two->path,
+		show_submodule_summary(o->file, one->path ? one->path : two->path,
 				line_prefix,
 				one->sha1, two->sha1, two->dirty_submodule,
 				meta, del, add, reset);