diff --git a/src/journal/coredumpctl.c b/src/journal/coredumpctl.c
index f9cebb7a42..4f0ed58397 100644
--- a/src/journal/coredumpctl.c
+++ b/src/journal/coredumpctl.c
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ static int retrieve(const void *data,
                 return 0;
 
         *var = strndup((const char*)data + ident, len - ident);
-        if (!var)
+        if (!*var)
                 return log_oom();
 
         return 0;