diff --git a/src/conky.c b/src/conky.c
index e455c8ac..5ced9432 100644
--- a/src/conky.c
+++ b/src/conky.c
@@ -640,12 +640,16 @@ static struct text_object global_root_object;
 static inline void read_exec(const char *data, char *buf, const int size)
 {
 	FILE *fp = popen(data, "r");
-	int length = fread(buf, 1, size, fp);
+	if(fp) {
+		int length = fread(buf, 1, size, fp);
 
-	pclose(fp);
-	buf[length] = '\0';
-	if (length > 0 && buf[length - 1] == '\n') {
-		buf[length - 1] = '\0';
+		pclose(fp);
+		buf[length] = '\0';
+		if (length > 0 && buf[length - 1] == '\n') {
+			buf[length - 1] = '\0';
+		}
+	} else {
+		buf[0] = '\0';
 	}
 }