diff --git a/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c b/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
index c4f4f5c96f..9381189eee 100644
--- a/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
+++ b/libretro-common/streams/file_stream.c
@@ -330,7 +330,9 @@ RFILE *filestream_open(const char *path, unsigned mode, ssize_t len)
 
    {
       const char *ld = (const char*)strrchr(path, '.');
-      stream->ext    = strdup(ld ? ld + 1 : "");
+      if (ld) {
+         stream->ext = strdup(ld + 1);
+      }
    }
 
    filestream_set_size(stream);