diff --git a/lib/libc/db/btree/bt_close.c b/lib/libc/db/btree/bt_close.c
index 1f85992f8e4..f1e7c8ddef0 100644
--- a/lib/libc/db/btree/bt_close.c
+++ b/lib/libc/db/btree/bt_close.c
@@ -134,7 +134,8 @@ __bt_sync(const DB *dbp, u_int flags)
 		return (RET_ERROR);
 	}
 
-	if (F_ISSET(t, B_INMEM | B_RDONLY) || !F_ISSET(t, B_MODIFIED))
+	if (F_ISSET(t, B_INMEM | B_RDONLY) ||
+	    !F_ISSET(t, B_MODIFIED | B_METADIRTY))
 		return (RET_SUCCESS);
 
 	if (F_ISSET(t, B_METADIRTY) && bt_meta(t) == RET_ERROR)