diff --git a/cpukit/dtc/libfdt/fdt_ro.c b/cpukit/dtc/libfdt/fdt_ro.c
index 9fe2f49590..b78c4e48f1 100644
--- a/cpukit/dtc/libfdt/fdt_ro.c
+++ b/cpukit/dtc/libfdt/fdt_ro.c
@@ -255,6 +255,9 @@ int fdt_path_offset_namelen(const void *fdt, const char *path, int namelen)
 
 	FDT_RO_PROBE(fdt);
 
+	if (!can_assume(VALID_INPUT) && namelen <= 0)
+		return -FDT_ERR_BADPATH;
+
 	/* see if we have an alias */
 	if (*path != '/') {
 		const char *q = memchr(path, '/', end - p);