diff --git a/src/util/util.c b/src/util/util.c
index 2d329527dc..c44d0126e0 100644
--- a/src/util/util.c
+++ b/src/util/util.c
@@ -2799,7 +2799,7 @@ int virBuildPathInternal(char **path, ...)
     va_list ap;
     int ret = 0;
 
-    va_start(ap, *path);
+    va_start(ap, path);
 
     path_component = va_arg(ap, char *);
     virBufferAdd(&buf, path_component, -1);