diff --git a/inc/init.php b/inc/init.php
index 67cac87839d4d815948813ebe00868bab3219688..ba24d7ced1f0a10ef57adda3dd7453ba306fb377 100644
--- a/inc/init.php
+++ b/inc/init.php
@@ -91,9 +91,10 @@
  */
 function init_path($path){
   $p = realpath($path);
-  if($p) return $p;
+  if(is_dir($p)) return $p;
   $p = realpath(DOKU_INC.$path);
-  return $p;
+  if(is_dir($p)) return $p;
+  return '';
 }
 
 /**