diff --git a/Modules/getpath.c b/Modules/getpath.c
index 139d753..ee784dd 100644
--- a/Modules/getpath.c
+++ b/Modules/getpath.c
@@ -236,7 +236,8 @@
     if (p[0] == SEP)
         wcscpy(path, p);
     else {
-        _Py_wgetcwd(path, MAXPATHLEN);
+        if (!_Py_wgetcwd(path, MAXPATHLEN))
+            Py_FatalError("unable to get the current directory");
         if (p[0] == '.' && p[1] == SEP)
             p += 2;
         joinpath(path, p);