diff --git a/name-hash.c b/name-hash.c
index 225dd769954..d8d25c23e99 100644
--- a/name-hash.c
+++ b/name-hash.c
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ static void hash_index_entry(struct index_state *istate, struct cache_entry *ce)
 	if (ce->ce_flags & CE_HASHED)
 		return;
 	ce->ce_flags |= CE_HASHED;
-	ce->next = NULL;
+	ce->next = ce->dir_next = NULL;
 	hash = hash_name(ce->name, ce_namelen(ce));
 	pos = insert_hash(hash, ce, &istate->name_hash);
 	if (pos) {