diff --git a/setup.c b/setup.c
index 5716d90b57..f0b56b9f54 100644
--- a/setup.c
+++ b/setup.c
@@ -422,8 +422,10 @@ const char *setup_git_directory_gently(int *nongit_ok)
 			}
 			die("Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): %s", DEFAULT_GIT_DIR_ENVIRONMENT);
 		}
-		if (chdir(".."))
+		if (chdir("..")) {
+			cwd[offset] = '\0';
 			die_errno("Cannot change to '%s/..'", cwd);
+		}
 	}
 
 	inside_git_dir = 0;