diff --git a/sha1_file.c b/sha1_file.c
index 06784fb95af..68ccb048acb 100644
--- a/sha1_file.c
+++ b/sha1_file.c
@@ -2787,7 +2787,9 @@ static int create_tmpfile(char *buffer, size_t bufsiz, const char *filename)
 		/* Make sure the directory exists */
 		memcpy(buffer, filename, dirlen);
 		buffer[dirlen-1] = 0;
-		if (mkdir(buffer, 0777) || adjust_shared_perm(buffer))
+		if (mkdir(buffer, 0777) && errno != EEXIST)
+			return -1;
+		if (adjust_shared_perm(buffer))
 			return -1;
 
 		/* Try again */