diff --git a/src/corelib/io/qdir.cpp b/src/corelib/io/qdir.cpp
index fd2f0e3067..19afc0572a 100644
--- a/src/corelib/io/qdir.cpp
+++ b/src/corelib/io/qdir.cpp
@@ -2281,8 +2281,10 @@ QString qt_normalizePathSegments(const QString &name, QDirPrivate::PathNormaliza
 
 static QString qt_cleanPath(const QString &path, bool *ok)
 {
-    if (path.isEmpty())
+    if (path.isEmpty()) {
+        Q_ASSERT(!ok); // The only caller passing ok knows its path is non-empty
         return path;
+    }
 
     QString name = QDir::fromNativeSeparators(path);
     QString ret = qt_normalizePathSegments(name, OSSupportsUncPaths ? QDirPrivate::AllowUncPaths : QDirPrivate::DefaultNormalization, ok);