diff --git a/wrapper.c b/wrapper.c
index bac59d2c41..094b2ab983 100644
--- a/wrapper.c
+++ b/wrapper.c
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ int git_mkstemps_mode(char *pattern, int suffix_len, int mode)
 		template[5] = letters[v % num_letters]; v /= num_letters;
 
 		fd = open(pattern, O_CREAT | O_EXCL | O_RDWR, mode);
-		if (fd > 0)
+		if (fd >= 0)
 			return fd;
 		/*
 		 * Fatal error (EPERM, ENOSPC etc).