diff --git a/lib/initend.c b/lib/initend.c
index e849deef..f56c7ed7 100644
--- a/lib/initend.c
+++ b/lib/initend.c
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ store_preserved_file(struct xbps_handle *xhp, const char *file)
 
 		len = strlen(globbuf.gl_pathv[i]) - strlen(xhp->rootdir) + 1;
 		p = malloc(len);
-		assert(len);
+		assert(p);
 		strlcpy(p, globbuf.gl_pathv[i] + strlen(xhp->rootdir), len);
 		xbps_array_add_cstring(xhp->preserved_files, p);
 		xbps_dbg_printf(xhp, "Added preserved file: %s (expanded from %s)\n", p, file);