diff --git a/src/exec.c b/src/exec.c
index 8330174..3f6d876 100644
--- a/src/exec.c
+++ b/src/exec.c
@@ -1279,8 +1279,8 @@ search_access(const char *fn, int mode)
 	struct stat sb;
 
 	if (stat(fn, &sb) < 0)
-		/* file does not exist */
-		return (ENOENT);
+		/* file may or may not exist: check errno */
+		return errno;
 	/* LINTED use of access */
 	if (access(fn, mode) < 0) {
 		/* file exists, but we can't access it */