diff --git a/src/fileio.c b/src/fileio.c
index a2031e9..24a01a0 100644
--- a/src/fileio.c
+++ b/src/fileio.c
@@ -366,15 +366,18 @@
 	    goto theend;
 	}
     }
-
-    if (!read_stdin && !read_buffer && !read_fifo)
-    {
 #if defined(UNIX) || defined(VMS)
+    if (!read_stdin && fname != NULL)
 	/*
 	 * On Unix it is possible to read a directory, so we have to
 	 * check for it before the mch_open().
 	 */
 	perm = mch_getperm(fname);
+#endif
+
+    if (!read_stdin && !read_buffer && !read_fifo)
+    {
+#if defined(UNIX) || defined(VMS)
 	if (perm >= 0 && !S_ISREG(perm)		    // not a regular file ...
 		      && !S_ISFIFO(perm)	    // ... or fifo
 		      && !S_ISSOCK(perm)	    // ... or socket