diff --git a/src/basic/conf-files.c b/src/basic/conf-files.c
index 6320674fb5..3ba9f6b45d 100644
--- a/src/basic/conf-files.c
+++ b/src/basic/conf-files.c
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ int conf_files_insert(char ***strv, const char *root, char **dirs, const char *p
 
         t = path_join(root, path, NULL);
         if (!t)
-                return log_oom();
+                return -ENOMEM;
 
         r = strv_insert(strv, i, t);
         if (r < 0)