diff --git a/lib/libfile.c b/lib/libfile.c
index c6fb6d7..c626e2f 100644
--- a/lib/libfile.c
+++ b/lib/libfile.c
@@ -163,8 +163,10 @@
 	buf = xzalloc(read_size + 1);
 
 	fd = open(filename, O_RDONLY);
-	if (fd < 0)
+	if (fd < 0) {
+		ret = fd;
 		goto err_out;
+	}
 
 	ret = read_full(fd, buf, read_size);
 	if (ret < 0)