diff --git a/xcursor/xcursor.c b/xcursor/xcursor.c
index 46085918..7e1f310f 100644
--- a/xcursor/xcursor.c
+++ b/xcursor/xcursor.c
@@ -763,9 +763,11 @@ xcursor_load_theme(const char *theme, int size,
 			continue;
 
 		full = xcursor_build_fullname(dir, "cursors", "");
-		load_all_cursors_from_dir(full, size, load_callback,
-					  user_data);
-		free(full);
+		if (full) {
+			load_all_cursors_from_dir(full, size, load_callback,
+						  user_data);
+			free(full);
+		}
 
 		if (!inherits) {
 			full = xcursor_build_fullname(dir, "", "index.theme");