diff --git a/src/system.c b/src/system.c
index bdeb847..2581247 100755
--- a/src/system.c
+++ b/src/system.c
@@ -6274,6 +6274,13 @@ int ss_file_exist(const char *path)
  
  \********************************************************************/
 {
+   // first check if path is a directory and if yes, return 0
+   struct stat buf;
+   stat(path, &buf);
+   if (S_ISDIR(buf.st_mode))
+      return 0;
+
+   // check if the file exists
    int fd = open(path, O_RDONLY, 0);
    if (fd < 0)
       return 0;