diff --git a/servers/slapd/logging.c b/servers/slapd/logging.c
index 89405f827c..485387f8a1 100644
--- a/servers/slapd/logging.c
+++ b/servers/slapd/logging.c
@@ -123,8 +123,9 @@ logfile_open( const char *path )
 		return errno;
 
 	if ( fstat( fd, &st ) ) {
+		int saved_errno = errno;
 		close( fd );
-		return errno;
+		return saved_errno;
 	}
 
 	if ( !logfile_path[0] ) {