diff --git a/src/library/util.c b/src/library/util.c
index 8a20728..4d4a576 100644
--- a/src/library/util.c
+++ b/src/library/util.c
@@ -184,11 +184,9 @@ bool cve_is_dir(const char *p)
 
 char *cve_get_file_parent(const char *p)
 {
-        char *r = realpath(p, NULL);
-        if (!r) {
-                return NULL;
-        }
-        return dirname(r);
+        autofree(char) *d = strdup(p);
+        char *r = realpath(dirname(d), NULL);
+        return r;
 }
 
 bool cve_file_set_text(const char *path, char *text)