1 files changed, 4 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/diff.c b/diff.c
index 781fa15ac1..f91f256c56 100644
--- a/diff.c
+++ b/diff.c
@@ -1465,6 +1465,10 @@ static void builtin_diff(const char *name_a,
 	const char *set = diff_get_color_opt(o, DIFF_METAINFO);
 	const char *reset = diff_get_color_opt(o, DIFF_RESET);
 
+	/* Never use a non-valid filename anywhere if at all possible */
+	name_a = DIFF_FILE_VALID(one) ? name_a : name_b;
+	name_b = DIFF_FILE_VALID(two) ? name_b : name_a;
+
 	a_one = quote_two(o->a_prefix, name_a + (*name_a == '/'));
 	b_two = quote_two(o->b_prefix, name_b + (*name_b == '/'));
 	lbl[0] = DIFF_FILE_VALID(one) ? a_one : "/dev/null";