diff --git a/pam_kwallet.c b/pam_kwallet.c
--- a/pam_kwallet.c
+++ b/pam_kwallet.c
@@ -723,10 +723,16 @@
     sprintf(path, "%s/%s/%s", userInfo->pw_dir, kdehome, fixpath);
 
     char *salt = NULL;
-    if (stat(path, &info) != 0 || info.st_size == 0) {
+    if (stat(path, &info) != 0 || info.st_size == 0 || !S_ISREG(info.st_mode)) {
         createNewSalt(pamh, path, userInfo);
     }
 
+    if (stat(path, &info) != 0 || info.st_size == 0 || !S_ISREG(info.st_mode)) {
+        syslog(LOG_ERR, "%s: Failed to ensure %s looks like a salt file", logPrefix, path);
+        free(path);
+        return 1;
+    }
+
     FILE *fd = fopen(path, "r");
     if (fd == NULL) {
         syslog(LOG_ERR, "%s: Couldn't open file: %s because: %d-%s", logPrefix, path, errno, strerror(errno));