diff --git a/core/java/com/android/internal/content/FileSystemProvider.java b/core/java/com/android/internal/content/FileSystemProvider.java
index 73ef8c6f6fcac..2f048c95ae4e3 100644
--- a/core/java/com/android/internal/content/FileSystemProvider.java
+++ b/core/java/com/android/internal/content/FileSystemProvider.java
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ public abstract class FileSystemProvider extends DocumentsProvider {
             if (shouldHide(file)) continue;
 
             if (file.isDirectory()) {
-                for (File child : file.listFiles()) {
+                for (File child : FileUtils.listFilesOrEmpty(file)) {
                     pending.add(child);
                 }
             }