diff --git a/lib/facter/root_home.rb b/lib/facter/root_home.rb
index 0e1764254..c44d64a7b 100644
--- a/lib/facter/root_home.rb
+++ b/lib/facter/root_home.rb
@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@
   rescue LoadError
   # Unavailable on platforms like Windows
   else
-    Etc.getpwnam('root').dir
+    Etc.getpwnam('root')&.dir
   end
 end